


In the Wake of the Storm

by ASSphyxiate_My_Soul



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Character Death, Depression, F/F, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Multi, Suicide, Supernatural Elements, Temporary Character Death, The End, also, everyone gay, i don't make the rules, literally probably just about the power of love, tags will be added as thought of?, temporary suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2020-11-27 15:40:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20950814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASSphyxiate_My_Soul/pseuds/ASSphyxiate_My_Soul
Summary: My spoopy, smutty, get back into creating, fic thing.Hanzo Shimada murdered his parents and dismembered his brother a decade ago. Doctors and the media called him crazy. Insane. Psychotic. But Jesse Mccree sees a man struggling to be free of his demons. But the demons are much more real than he bargained for. Will he still help Hanzo heal, even if it means putting everyone else he cares for in harms way?





	1. Oasis

“Are you sure about this Genji? He almost killed ya’?” 

Jesse Mccree shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat of his car. He’d met Genji Shimada, his best friend, in a counselling group for people adjusting to life with prosthetics. Both were still in highschool and pissed at the world. Now, in the late twenties, Genji sought to reconcile with the person responsible for his state. 

Jesse, he was only missing the one arm. But Genji’s, ‘incident’, had been so severe it had left him with half an inorganic body. The whole left half of his body had been decimated. Arm and leg, most of his internal organs, and even his lower jaw had been replaced with plastic, metal and silicone. The same incident had orphaned him, leaving him in the care of distant relatives, so distant in fact, that it involved moving across the country. His older brother, had been left behind, institutionalized. 

Genji had never really opened up to his therapists, but he had confided in Jesse often, when he had nightmares, or spent too long dwelling on the past. It gave Jesse nightmares to this day. A figure drenched in blood, wailing and swinging a sword too heavy for him, too blunt to cut properly, haunted him. That was who Genji was going on this road trip for. His brother, was finally coming out of the hospital. 

He had been 19 when he murdered his parents and maimed his brother, but when the police had arrived, he was raving and crying. Nothing he said made sense to them, and he had been admitted on charges of manslaughter due to mental instability. 

When Genji awoke in the hospital, all he saw of his brother, was a news report on the sentence, and a haunting image captured of the young man being escorted to a police car. 

Jesse remembered how angry his friend had been. At his brother for committing the crime. His parents for pressuring them so much, that surely that had been the reason. Having to move states.

When he was old enough to inherit his half of the family fortune, he sought out to become better. To move on. It had been hell on him. But it was how he met his fiance, Zenyatta. He wandered into a little tea shop one day, having read that tea was calming or something, but he found something better. 

Jesse loved seeing his friend finally move on, find a new family and such. But it was Zenyatta who encouraged this ridiculous endeavor. After several years, he insisted that Genji reconnect with Hanzo. He had started calling Hanzo about six months ago, and told Jesse little of the conversations themselves. But now that the time to meet once more drew ever closer, Genji needed his friend more than ever. He seemed calm, happy… at peace. But Jesse saw the way his knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, the little breathing exercises when he thought Jesse wasn’t watching. 

“I am aware Jesse. I just… I’ve had some incredible support over the years… and Hanzo… he’s had pill bottles and white rooms. I appreciate your concern… but I need to do this.” Genji shot a reassuring smile to Jesse, right before turning down a road encased in tall evergreens, keeping the asylum from public view. “Besides, think of that new camera. It should arrive by the time we get back.”

“Ah, you’re a devil, you know that.” Jesse, had majored in photography. His fathers called him a hell of a shot with a pistol, and he surpassed that with a camera. They had been nothing but supportive of him ever since they fostered him, and even when he came of age, he stayed with them. Filled out all the right legal documents, and now he was officially their son. He still lived with them, struggled to live alone or with roommates who didn’t get it when he woke up screaming in the middle of the night. Genji got it, they got it. That’s all he wanted, and all he needed. 

“I try Jesse. Anyway… we’re here now. It would be kind of a dick move to turn around now.” Both men chuckled as Genji pulled up to the asylum. It seemed like the wrong word for it though. A few years ago, Hanzo had been moved here, a much smaller space, surrounded by forests and mountains, with barely 30 patients scraped together. The building itself looked like a lodge, some couples getaway, surrounded by gardens, and with a huge oak tree out front. Apparently since moving here, Hanzo had made incredible progress, seeming more at peace. Though the doctors informed Genji that sometimes he would still lapse into erratic speech. He was also welcome to bring Hanzo back should he find adjusting to normal life too difficult for the time being. 

Genji parked under the oak, and right on time, as both he and Jesse climbed out of the car, a man and a woman dressed in… jeans, hiking boots and graphic t shirts came out to greet them. They wore badges with their names on them, doctors. Both Ziegler, but the man was incredible colossal and black. The woman more Genji’s size, and white. Married?? 

“Goodmorning! We’re so happy you could make it Mr. Shimada. I’m Angela, and this here is my brother Angelo.” The woman smiled and shook both Genji and Jesse’s hands. Jesse, just had a million more questions, but the two seemed to notice the confusion with their own kind of humour. 

“I’m a psychologist slash psychiatrist. And my sister here is the doctor doctor on site. Our parents started this place, but we’ve been running it for the past eight years.” Angelo smiled, resting a hand on both their backs as he guided them in. “And before you ask, yes, we’re twins! Identical I believe.” He laughed, warm and hearty, but Angela scoffed with a smile. 

“We’re mixed twins. One white, one black. I’m sure you’ve probably seen something about that on the internet. But that is besides the point.” Angela paused, opening the doors for the group. “Your brother is making remarkable progress, Mr Shimada.”

“Uh...Genji is fine… What’s… What’s he been doing?” Genji was fidgeting. Scratching his jaw, though there was no way it could be itchy. A nervous habit. 

“Well he’s an incredibly creative soul. He’s quiet, but I think he’s told us more through painting than any of our patients ever have with words.” Angelo hummed, excited to show them perhaps. “Normally he would be in the studio at this time of day, but he’s helping some of the others out back. Didn’t think it would be a good idea to get lost in his work and have you two show up… He, doesn’t appreciate being interrupted.”

“What happens if you interrupt him?” Jesse asked, scathing almost. 

“Nothing drastic. He becomes a little out of sorts, and struggles to calm down again. We have a list of exercises and practices for everyone involved that we believe will continue helping him progress. Is it just, you two he’ll be staying with?” Angela asked, a concerned look on her face. 

“Not quite. My partner couldn’t make it, but he’ll be living with us. Jesse here is my emergency contact for pretty much everything. So I figured if there really is an emergency, he could help out. There’s a couple of other people, but Zen and I don’t really host dinner parties or anything. So Hanzo isn’t going to be bombarded with people if that’s what you’re worried about.” Genji spoke, clearing his throat afterwards, head tilting to look in every room they passed. 

“That’s excellent. What’s home life like? Noisy? Busy?” 

“Nope. We’re super chill at home. Like, tea and yoga and water features and stuff.” Genji grinned, feeling rather happy that at least that was going to work out. 

“That’s perfect! Just remember, take it slow, and be supportive. Progress is still amazing, but readjusting to life outside is going to be a challenge.” Angelo said, opening another set of doors for them to step outside. There were about fifteen other people in the back garden, hunched over pot plants, or pulling weeds. 

“I… don’t see Hanzo.” Genji huffed, straining and staring at every person in turn. Granted, he hadn’t seen a picture of his brother since he’d been all over the news. 

“He’s probably further out helping some… more outgoing patients.”

“Oh, the Mad Max pair?” Angelo laughed as his sister swatted him on the arm. They walked through the gardens, some people ignored them completely, others greeting them in various ways and showing them what they were doing. 

When they rounded the corner, the found the very obvious mad max pair, shirtless and sitting with a third figure that could only be Hanzo.  
“- and if they cause you trouble, you come back and we’ll look out for ya’!” The skinny, too long limbed one was chattering away, the much larger one nodding along.

“Hanzo.” Angela called and all three looked up. Angela just nodded with a smile and Hanzo climbed up to his feet. He was not at all like what Jesse had pictured. His hair was combed back and tied up, beard neatly trimmed. He was definitely shorter than Jesse, like Genji, but a little bulkier. It was hard to tell when the man was being grabbed and hugged by two lunatics so hard he probably should have snapped in two. 

“You call us, like all the time, ok.” The skinny one said and and Hanzo nodded with smile, waving at them as he walked over two the Zieglers, and the two guests. He held up two little wooden figures and showed them to Angela and Angelo. One rat… or mouse? And a little pig? 

“Did they give those to you?” Angelo asked with a smile and Hanzo nodded, before putting them in his hoody pockets. “That’s lovely. We’ll be sure to make sure you three stay in contact. We have your brother’s number, and when you’re ready, we’ll get your number aswell.” 

“Now come inside, we have some paper work to fill out and then we have to get your things. Are you all packed and ready?” Angela asked, resting a hand at Hanzo’s back and guiding him. 

“... yes.” He spoke incredibly softly, reserved and waiting for someone to outspeak him. “I couldn’t fit all my paintings though.” He muttered.

“Don’t worry about that. When you’re all settled in, we’ll mail the rest to you. And remember, if you ever need to come back here, we’ll have your room ready again in no time.”

Mccree frowned, unsure about this place. He made a note to look into it later. Seemed too nice, too familial. No medical institution he could think of seemed willing to leave a room empty for one person on the chance they might return. Then again, it was a family set up. Maybe that's what they wanted to be? Who knew.

“How much does that cost, to keep it going?” Jesse spoke, somewhat startling Hanzo. 

“I’ve been paying for medication for Hanzo for years.” Genji spoke. “The Ziegler family is responsible for some of the world’s top medical research and breakthroughs. Their tech is the reason people like me survive.” Genji spoke, but dwindled off at the end, muttering an apology. Hanzo seemed stiffer than before. 

“We’re really rich, basically.” Angelo said and shrugged. “And on top of that, our family has always been super idealistic. We, with the patients that feel up to it and some of the other employees, grow our own fruit and vegetables here. What we can’t grow or make, we trade for, or buy. Ange and I still do some research and work outside this place, but as long as we keep it small, we can afford to help the people who need it most.” 

“Did Genji find you guys?” Jesse asked again, honestly just not trusting. This was not how he grew up believing wealthy people behaved. Genji was one thing… Maybe it was a doctor thing. Man he had some research to do when he got home. 

“... I found them.” Hanzo muttered, looking at Jesse with those haunted, golden eyes. 

When he said no more, Angela spoke again. “Through a network of friends actually. At the institution he was previously staying, a friend of ours performed some music. He spoke to alot of the patients there, and ended up helping transfer three. Hanzo transferred with Jamie and Mako, which is why they’re thick as thieves. Obviously there’s hundreds of people who could benefit from this environment, but of all the people that Lucio spoke to, these three were the only ones who spoke to their doctors about it.”

“What are the other two in for?” Jesse mused, brow quirked. 

“We can’t divulge patient---”

“Jamie likes fire. And bombs. And… that sort of stuff. Mako’s daughter was hit by a car. He met Jamie and they blew up the car that did it. Didn’t kill anyone, but they destroyed alot of stuff....”

“... Hanzo… You can’t just, share that kind of information with people.” 

“They said I could. They said it would be funny to see your face if I did.” Hanzo was in fact, not smiling or laughing, but in the background they heard snickers.

“Right… well, inside we go then.” Angela laughed, but looked like she was already planning a stern talking to with a certain pair.

The paperwork took about half an hour, Angela helping Genji with it, while Angelo helped Hanzo with his stuff. He didn’t have much. A gym bag, a suitcase, and a flat, but still huge plastic folder. A portfolio, Jesse guessed. 

He helped get the heavier suitcase into the car, Hanzo apologizing softly at how heavy it was, muttering something about paints and stuff. Jesse didn’t care, once it was in, he could breath again. Now it was just another 18 hour drive back the way they’d come. His ass was already numb at the thought of it. 

The drive was relatively uneventful. Jesse and Genji talked, and Hanzo either slept, or watched things on a tablet. He had no idea how Hanzo got the tablet, but he wasn’t going to argue with it. It kept the back seat quiet. 

Jesse couldn’t stop himself from looking at Hanzo time and time again. He was totally unlike the nightmares he’d had, or what Genji had described from the incident. He was too soft, oddly childlike in the way he pursed his lips when doing something on the tablet, or how his cheeks lifted when something made him smile. Jesse caught a glimpse of whatever he was watching, it was some game stream. Too much pink on the screen to tell who or what it was though. 

At some point, Genji needed to pull over and switch with Jesse, too tired to continue driving alone. And on the empty highways and total darkness, Jesse saw in the mirror Hanzo’s sleeping face, clutching a half empty pack of McDonald's fries, and some part of Jesse breathed a sigh of relief. 

This wasn’t so bad. He didn’t think he’d mind Hanzo hanging around alot more.

Except he didn’t. He stayed in Genji’s home pretty exclusively. Jesse saw him once or twice in the hallway. But Genji seemed absolutely at a loss. 

“He just… stays in his room, and paints… all day.” Genji groaned, hovering over his tea. Zenyatta laughed, rubbing his shoulder. They were at a little cafe, unwilling to disturb the peace of their home today. Jesse didn’t mind, he like the coffee here.

“That’s not true love. He helps cook, clean, garden. Your brother is merely not quite so talkative as you.” 

“It just… it’s so hard holding a conversation, you know?” Genji asked, rubbing his temples. “He talks to his friends back at the… what did you call it?” 

“Oh, ah… Heart and Mind wellness Lodge… or some such.” Mccree chuckled, scratching some crumbs from his beard. That had been a delicious few biscuits. If they were free, he’d probably eat them all. 

“Right, the lodge. And I thought I heard him talking to someone last night… but when I went to check on him, he was fast asleep.”

“Sleep talking, maybe? You used to do that alot.” Jesse remembered the times he’d managed to get Genji to come over. His sister coming in and threatening to smother them with a pillow at three in the morning. 

“Still does sometimes.” Zenyatta chuckled as Genji shot him a look, before, oh no… there was a pleading look at Jesse.

“Anyway… the whole point of this is… Zen and I need… time. Can you just… stop over every day? Check in on him? We’ll only be gone a week. It’s just… I’ll figure out something long term when we get back, but I need a break, Jesse.”

“So… You want me to babysit, so you two can have a little sex holiday?” 

Zen seemed well, zen about it all, good humoured to no end, and Genji just seemed frazzled. 

“Basically. Yeah. Got a problem with that?” Genji jabbed a finger in Jesse’s direction and two hands were shown in surrender. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll do it.”

“Thankyou…” Genji breathed a huge ass sigh of relief. “Thankyou so much Jesse. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” 

“Well.. there has been this lense I’ve been saving for-”

“DONE.” 

///

Genji and Zen left on their little adventure a few days later, after debriefing both Hanzo and Jesse on what was happening. At the home, not on their holiday that is. 

Jesse wasn’t going to stay overnight, but he’d hang out in the day times, help cook and clean, make sure Hanzo had everything in the house he needed to eat three square meals a day. As a rule though, Jesse usually hated what Zen and Genji kept in the fridge. He still ate whatever they cooked when he visited in the past, and he completely understood their choices… But he just… meat was amazing. And even with no meat, he could absolutely never go the extra mile and drop eggs and cheese and honey. Just… Nope. He got it. He really did. But he also loved that stuff. 

Thankfully, Genji left him a shopping list. Even more thankfully, he noticed Hanzo make a weird face at some of the ingredients. 

“Pizza?” Jesse asked, setting the list aside. Hanzo seemed uncomfortable. “Hey… it’s ok. Look, if you want something else in the house, Genji and Zen, they’re great people. They’ll keep whatever you want to eat, even if they don’t want it. Trust me. You just gotta… you know… talk to them.” 

“I… feels bad. To not like their food.” Hanzo muttered, fidgeting with a knot in the wood of the dining room table. 

“Well, you don’t need to feel bad. It sucks that you do… but…” Shit, what did people say to him back in the day when he was first fostered…. Oh, right! “I can’t stop you from feeling bad, and I’m sorry that you do. But no one here is going to judge you. I promise.”

He crossed his heart and everything. A smile. Small, and fragile, but a smile none the less.

They did have pizza for dinner, and when Mccree was finished cleaning up, getting ready to leave, he spied Hanzo asleep on the lounge. He pulled a blanket over him and left a note on the fridge. 

Have leftovers for breakfast. I’ll be over at 10am.

When he arrived the next day, he found Hanzo in his room, door open, but he knocked anyway. 

“Am I interrupting?” He asked, and Hanzo looked up from his tablet, shaking his head. 

“No. Not painting today.” He said, shutting off the device and standing up. “It’s Tuesday.”

“Yes… Yes it is.”

“I… uh, sorry. It’s--”

“Hey, hey. It’s ok. Seriously.” Jesse offered a smile and gestured to the kitchen. “I’m gonna make a coffee. You want tea, or?”

“Coffee… please.” 

Hanzo liked his coffee much different to Jesse’s black. He liked it was a good amount of milk and too much sugar.

“So what’s on Tuesday?” Jesse asked, pulling out some biscuits his dads had made. Chocolate chip. On the money, Hanzo loved them. 

“Garden day. I want… ah…” Jesse waited, let Hanzo work through it in his own mind. “I want to do something… to say thankyou. Maybe… a bird bath? They were admiring a bird family in the trees, and… I thought… is that dumb?” 

It wasn’t dumb, it was kind of adorable watching how fidgety and flustered it seemed to make Hanzo. “Not at all. We can look at the online catalogue for the local hardware stores. And then I can go pick it up if you’d like.” 

There was a look of relief, but then a flash of determination. “Can… I come?” 

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. Jesse didn’t know if Genji would be pissed off or happy at this kind of progress. Jesse would text him later and tell him the secret was junk food.

They picked a simplistic Concrete bird bath, with a wooden edge for decoration. Modern and simple, suited Genji and Zen’s house just fine. Hanzo also picked out some more plants to put around it, to encourage the family of birds to hang out there more. Ofcourse, the bird bath was horrible and heavy and terrible and the worst. Installing it involved teamwork and patience and strength. And when they were done, both men were laying in Zen’s perfectly manicured, soft as hell, lawn. 

“Maybe the bird bath was a bit much…” Hanzo muttered. 

Jesse laughed. “We could… load it back up and take it back.”

“No!” Hanzo slapped him on the arm and both laughed. Thankfully, filling it with water and planting it’s little accompaniment garden was much lighter work. Literally. 

They took their shoes off before going inside, covered in manure. And Jesse saw for the first time, Hanzo’s feet. They were prosthetic. A little more high end tech than his arm, and possibly even Genji’s. Hanzo caught him staring. 

“Genji got them for me this year... “ The newness was emphasized with wiggling toes. “He didn’t know until he found me”

“How’d it happen?” Jesse asked, already feeling like a fool for asking, but committing to this path. 

“I… after… I tried... “ 

“Hey… you don’t gotta talk. It’s ok.” 

Hanzo looked to him, before smiling a little and shrugging. “I jumped. I found a window with loose bars… I landed on my feet. When I woke up in hospital… they were gone.”

“I’m… I’m sorry Hanzo.”

“It’s ok. I did this to myself.” There was a moment of silence, before Hanzo sucked in some air and smiled. “I want to do better though. Show Genji that… I really do appreciate what he’s trying to do for me.”

“I’m sure he knows. But it can’t hurt to just talk to him. It’s kinda driving him insane that you’re so quiet.” 

“I know… But…” Hanzo frowned, pursing his lips. “I want to show it.” 

“That the painting you working on?” Jesse asked, and when Hanzo’s eyes lit up, he knew he hit the money. “I’m sure he’ll love it.” 

“... Thankyou… Jesse.” He didn’t need to paint for Jesse. He could see the art in his eyes. 

Later that evening, back home, Jesse was taking out whatever frustrations he had on the so called, family boxing bag. 

“Rough day?” Gabriel Reyes-Morrison, stood in the doorway to their garage. Couldn’t park the car in here because they filled it with all their fitness crap. And a pole. Because Gabe said it was healthy damned exercise. And they all had fun learning how to use it. After that, Jesse couldn’t make jokes at pole dancer’s expenses any more. 

“Dad… I, ugh…”

“How’s it going with Genji’s brother?” 

“You… You remember all those nightmares about him right? About everything Genji told us back before he, you know… Zenned out.” Gabe just nodded, waiting for it. “Well… I think… I don’t know. He’s fucked up. I mean, who wouldn’t be…. I…”

“Oooh mygod. Jack! JACKIE! PAY UP BITCH!” Gabriel was gone, searching through the house, looking for his husband. Jesse chased after him. “PAY UP! JESSE HAS A CRUSH!” 

“Gabe, seriously, stop yelling.” Jack was in the kitchen, washing up after dinner, waiting for Gabe to come and dry everything and put it away. 

“He has a crush.” Gabe whispered, almost hissed, wrapping his arms around Jack and snickering.

“Wait… are you guys betting on me?” Jesse asked in disbelief. But also he did believe it, very much. 

“On you and the… what did you call him the first time you had a nightmare? Like the monster from the Ring? Or was it the Grudge?”

“Please don’t call him those things.” Jesse’s head was in his hands, trying to burrow out of this shameful feeling.

“What is he now then?” Gabe was beaming, and even Jack was grinning, though he’d apparently lost money.  
“Just… Just Hanzo. And… NO! I know that look. You’re not meeting him. He needs calm, and quiet and chill! You are specifically not what the doctor ordered.”

///

“This is your family?” Hanzo asked, peeking out the window at the two men standing on the sidewalk.

“Yeah… They wanted to come, but they won’t come inside if you’re not ok with it.”

“Who made the cookies?” The cookies of which dissappeared whenever Jesse wasn’t around.

“That would be Gabe. They one with the darker skin, scars all over his face. He is like… the holy prophet of food. Jack is the blonde one, and he’s pretty awesome in the kitchen too. But he’s partially blind, so Gabe is like kitchen hand prophet.”

“Jack… has Prosthetic feet too.” Hanzo mused, almost intrigued. He could see the shiny too thin ankle joints peeking out.

“Yeah… that’s a pretty… good observation. They were both soldiers. Like… Black ops kind. They were in a nasty explosion, and now they’re retired. Jack is, yeah, partially blind and missing his feet from it. Gabe got scarred up alot. Oh! And he has a little itty bit of prosthesis in his throat, so sometimes his voice is a bit weird. He likes to be loud because he thinks it sounds awesome. He’ll talk normal ‘round you though. Jack’ll keep him well behaved.”

Hanzo was quiet for a while, watching the new people for a time before he nodded to Jesse. “I think… I think I would be ok. Are you ok?” He asked and looked to the other. 

“Eh… Moderately. They’re embarrassing, but they’re family.” 

Letting more people in to meet Hanzo seemed like further betrayal to Genji. Oh he was gonna his ear yanked off. Just remember. Junk food. And Garden stuff. So far. 

Hanzo did amazing, some part of Jesse jumping with pride and joy as he even handled the too friendly Gabriel’s hug. This would go great, right? Nice and calm, bit of lunch. No. Not entirely. As they were leaving, Gabe stopped and turned on his heel. 

“But the way, Jesse has a crush on you. Have a nice day!” Jack slapped his husband upside the head, and they were gone, Gabe laughing, Jack apologizing for his behaviour. When they were finally and completely gone, Jesse melted into a puddle of exhausted apologies.

“I am so sorry about that. They mean well, he just… doesn’t think sometimes? No… No he thinks, he’s just… too fucking blunt. I’m sorry Hanzo.”

“Do you?” Hanzo was smiling, just sitting there watching and waiting. 

“I… uh… a bit. Yeah. But don’t read into it too much! Last thing I wanna do is make you feel uncomfortable.” Hell he knew Hanzo was gay. Genji had told him when Hanzo finished Highschool, their parents had found out, and they weren’t exactly the most accepting. They might not be the power they used to be, or even in their own country, but their parents expected perfection in every way, and heirs to the fortune. Perhaps in causing their deaths, Hanzo spared Genji that same judgement and expectation. Nope. Jesse got his head out of that thought train real fast.

Besides, it was hard to dwell on those dark thoughts anymore when the afternoon sun shone in golden and warm, lighting up Hanzo’s tattoo. Something he’d gotten straight after school. It was beautiful. He was…

“You… make me feel comfortable.” Hanzo spoke, his voice was gentle as ever, but there was a confidence in his words that was new. Less pausing and thinking on his words.

“I… fuck…” Jesse swallowed and sighed, leaning back in his chair. Hanzo was just watching him, trying to read the situation, waiting. Fuck it. “Do… you wanna go on a date?”

Their date was just lying on a blanket in the backyard, watching stars, and talking about whatever nonsense popped into their heads. Hanzo reached for Jesse’s hand, loosley interlocking fingers, and Jesse kissed him.

When Jesse got home, he was beaming, and Gabe was right there at the door waiting for him. 

Coincidently, also beaming. “So?” He asked, arms folded, trying to fool the world that he was the strict parent.

“... Ok, we kissed.” Jesse spat out, face bright red. Gabe laughed and pulled him into a big ol’ hug. “We’re so happy for you Jesse. I will do anything and everything for you! You have all of our support.”

“Could you start.. But not crushing my spine.” Jesse gasped out, but he couldn’t stop smiling. Jack was right there around the corner waiting for his turn at a hug. His sister, on the couch, gave him a thumbs up, but her eyes were glued to the screen of her laptop. 

“What’re you up to there, Sombra?” Jesse laughed, and her hand gesture changed drastically. 

“Don’t use my hacker name. Sounds weird when you say it.” Olivia grinned, still typing away. “I’m gonna dig up dirt on your boyfriend.”

“Hey, Leave that shit alone. You know he’s got a bad past. Leave it at that kiddo.” Gabe waltzed over and closed the laptop. She swore and he scruffed up her hair. She was the same age as Jesse, but unlike him, was biologically Gabriel’s daughter. She was born to his ex wife, who was also apparently more interested in gambling than raising a kid. So Gabe got custody when he got back from the war, and Jack supported him the whole way. Supported him so damned much that the only way he could be more supportive was to marry the man. So he did. 

Asides from fighting custody battles, the two, working with some old friends, started a security business. Olivia was headed for the police academy, when she showed more prowess in the more shady investigations and crime fighting. Sombra was born. 

It was while Jack and Gabe were working security that they met Jesse. Some street ruffian in with the wrong crowd. They were trying to rob a bank, stupid really, like in the old movies. His ‘friend’ at the time, threw out a stick of dynamite, you know, to complete the cliche. When Jack and Gabe arrived, Jesse was throwing it out the window, nose broken from a fist fight, and the only gang member left. He didn’t pull his hand inside quick enough, and the collapsing walls, broken glass and explosion itself took his arm. 

Gabe took him to the hospital, visited him for a solid year in juvenile detention, and then worked his ass off to get him out and into his custody. Jesse owed this family his life. They were the ones responsible for getting his arm all rigged up, and for him meeting Genji. In the process, Gabe kinda adopted the other as well. To a less legal, more just, stay over as much as you want and call me dad. 

If he could get a shot at having a real life, a happy family… then so did Hanzo, right? 

When Jesse arrived at Genji’s house the next day, he heard a fumbling crash, and then the sound of carbon fibre feet down the hallway, and then arms were around his neck, and he was being kissed like he was a goddamned lifeline.

Pulling back, Hanzo apologized before laughing and reaching up to wipe something off of Jesse’s cheek. It was then that he saw he was speckled with paint. 

“You… were in the middle of painting? You didn’t need to stop for me.” He said, astounded. This was nothing like what he’d been led to believe. 

“I wanted to.” The smile Hanzo offered was brighter than the sun, and Jesse just had to kiss him again, lay claim to this gentle patch of warmth in the universe. Oh he was so fucked. 

Hanzo’s fingers caught his, and he was pulling and tugging, leading Jesse on. “I want to show you.” And Jesse’s heart was quivering, excited and scared all at once. He followed, wanted to see what Hanzo had to say to him. In Hanzo’s room, there was a giant canvas taking up most of the space, depicting a storm in a desert. Lightning was striking the centre, and at it’s impact, a garden bloomed. An oasis, teeming with life. It was still largely unrefined, but at closer inspection, Jesse saw animals, tiny and details making an appearance in the painting. And scattered throughout the sand and golden dunes were stars.

“It’s beautiful…” He muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from the vivid blue of the lightning strike. 

“That’s me…” Hanzo muttered, fingers tracing over the air above the paint, so as not to smudge it. “Lightning destroys everything. But not here. Here it… Here I have the chance to create. To try again…” 

Jesse smiled, when he thought he saw something, like the long body of serpent within the shaded oasis. It moved. It was moving. Definitely moving. It’s head raised and it stared at Jesse, judging his worth. 

“Jesse?” 

Jesse blinked, pulled from a trance. There was no snake in the painting. He looked at Hanzo, taking a moment to reorientate himself before smiling and gesturing to the painting.

“How long have you been painting this? It’s incredible.”

“I started a few weeks ago… But I couldn’t… It didn’t have form until now. I couldn’t sleep last night… so I painted.”

“Well… It was time well spent. Though if you’re too tired to do much today, I get it.” Jesse laughed, holding an arm around Hanzo and giving him a light squeeze.

“No! No! I’m fine! I just… need to wash up, and then we can do whatever. Did you have something planned for today?” He was already making a move to pack up his paints, almost eagerly. And here everyone had Jesse believing Hanzo preferred painting to human company. 

“Well I thought I might do some groceries. Genji and Zen will be back in a couple of days, so it’d be good if they could be fully stocked. And if you felt like tagging along, we could find some things you might like. Otherwise-”

“I want to come.” Hanzo responded immediately. He seemed excited, full of more life than he had been any day before. Despite his eagerness, groceries had not been the easiest on him. There were quite a few people out today, and Hanzo was quiet the whole time, keeping close to Jesse, yet he refrained from holding his hand or being ‘too’ close. Was he afraid of being judged? 

Jesse didn’t probe for answers, just continued on shopping and trying to act normal. Though he was entirely ready to drop everything and evacuate if Hanzo gave the word. He did an incredible job of pushing through it all though, looking entirely drain when they were back in the car. After a few moments of driving, he reached for Jesse’s hand and muttered a thankyou. And by the time they were home, he was somewhat back to normal. Though he still had Hanzo lie down on the couch while he put groceries away. It was while he was putting away the dry goods, keeping keeping Genji and Zen’s lentils separate from Hanzo’s instant noodles, that he heard anything from said Shimada.

“...I’m sorry if me painting about you is weird… Is that weirdly fast? I’m sorry… I just…”

“Hey… You overthinkin’ all that?” Jesse frowned, walking over so he could see Hanzo properly. Oh yeah, he looked like he was dwelling on all kinds of little shit that the mind made seem big. Jesse knelt in front of him, taking his hand in both of his. “Don’t you worry about that one bit. It ain’t weird to me. It’s kinda nice, having someone care that much, you know? It means a lot. And I guess that makes me weird too, for thinkin’ bout you so much.”

Hanzo smiled a little, earning a bigger one from Jesse, who leaned in to kiss his cheek. He was right. It did feel nice. 

“No more beating yourself up for moving faster than normal boring people?” Jesse offered a pinky finger, and Hanzo took it, locking in the ancient promise. “You never did tell me what part of the painting I was though.” He mused, and Hanzo smiled.

“The desert. Full of starlight. You… make me feel like I can be more than… my past.” Hanzo 

After the groceries were all packed away, the two spent the afternoon watching kids movies on netflix. Except, about half way through the second one, they stopped watching and made out instead. Most of the afternoon passed by in a blur, hell Jesse didn’t even remember what they made for dinner, too focused on Hanzo. Too focused on how his back arched as he kissed up his spine, the way his breath keened when Jesse bit his nipple. The way fingers knotted through his hair as still clothed hips moved against his thigh. The way he took control, pushing Jesse back as he unzipped his jeans, pulled out his half hard cock, and kissed along it. And god his mouth was warm, so fucking warm and wet. He was fully erect in no time, Hanzo struggling to take it all in, drooling an awful lot. He pulled off, panting for air, looking somewhat frustrated. 

“You’re huge.” He muttered, matter of factly, crawling over Jesse to kiss him again. 

“We’ll just take it slow, ok.” Jesse soothed, rubbing his hands along Hanzo’s thighs. “And no matter how far we go, if you want to stop, just say the word.”

Hanzo smiled at that, kissing Jesse once more, before sitting upright to remove his own pants, wiggling out of them ever so cutely, being cautious of where he threw them because he didn’t exactly want to ruin his painting. Jesse had him on his back in seconds, unable to contain himself. Hanzo had no complaints, his own dick twitching with excitement at the display of power over him, and then again when the head of Jesse’s cock pressed against his ass, testing the resistance before pushing forward. It moved passed that first ring of muscle and Jesse slipped in a little too far too fast, apologising through both their groans. Hanzo told him to shut up, pulling him for another kiss. Jesse continued to push, until he felt his own hips connect with Hanzo’s ass, the man below him panting, flushed as he tried to maintain composure. 

“Full… ah! So… Full.” He breathed out, wrapping his legs around Jesse’s waist to keep him there. 

One hand on Hanzo’s waist, the other bracing himself on the mattress, Jesse began to move, rocking his hips more than thrusting, but damn Hanzo seemed to love it, biting down on his lips to keep as much of his voice in as he could. And then Jesse hit somewhere that made him gasp, opening his mouth and letting out the most gorgeous moan Jesse could have imagined. So naturally, he kept aiming for that spot, craving more of those sounds, and he got them, Hanzo unravelling below him. The rocking of Jesse’s hips became thrusts at long last, his moans joining Hanzo’s.

“Oh…! Oh, fuck darlin! Angel, sweetheart… fuck…” He breathed each word like a sacred prayer, at which Hanzo came undone, white ropes streaming across his stomach and chest, his ass clenching and spasming around Jesse’s dick until he was forced to a stop, spilling his own cum deep inside Hanzo. “Ah… fuck, sorry… damn… Hah…” He laughed, and Hanzo laughed, and they kissed, long and slow and sweet, holding one another close until finally, Jesse pulled free with a shudder, sighing happily as he cuddled up beside Hanzo, wrapping his arm around him. Who cares how far they were moving, or gonna move or whatever. Aside from the sex feeling fucking amazing, this as a whole felt… right. Like it was supposed to be or some other kind of corny destiny shit.

For once, Jesse didn’t have nightmares, about Hanzo and Genji, his own past or anything. But his night was completely undisturbed. He was awoken by Hanzo, shaking his shoulder to wake him. He was scared. 

“Jesse. Someone is here… I heard…” There was the clatter of someone tripping over one of their strewn grocery backs. Jesse was wide awake.

“Stay here Han. I’ll check it out.” He offered a reassuring smile, haphazardly pulling on a pair of mystery boxers, and creeping out into the hallway. He made it to the kitchen when a light turned on, effectively blinding him.

“Jesse?!” 

He blinked, letting his eyes adjust, to see a bewildered and ever more pissed by the second Genji. 

“What are you guys doing back so early? We thought you were a burglar or something…” Jesse muttered, rubbing his eyes to help them further. 

“We’ve been trying to call all day, you didn’t answer. No one did.” Genji spoke, and Jesse didn’t recall the phone ringing at all that day, or any before this. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” 

Jesse looked down at himself, obviously wearing Hanzo’s boxers, a touch too small for his toosh, before looking back to Genji. “I… uh, I can explain. Listen Genji… I’m sorry, but the last few days have been incredible… Your brother-”

“He doesn’t need this Jesse. He doesn’t need you. You can’t just treat him like another casual fling.”

“Hey now, it ain’t like that.” Jesse frowned, feeling an anger bubbling inside his chest. “I know it’s crazy, it’s hard to believe… but this is more than some fling Genji. I really like your brother. ALOT. He’s incredible and caring and creative and… like, for example. In the morning you’ll see, we made you guys a bird bath. That was all him. Said it was for you and Zen to encourage more birds to come closer. And, and he even went out shopping with me today. That’s fucking incredible. And he even let Gabe and Jack come in and say hi. He asked them how to make cookies…” 

“Jesse, you brought your dads here? They’re way too intense. It’s everything the Zieglers said to be careful with.” Genji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, I think, you should just go for now.”

“No!” A third voice joined the argument, Hanzo appearing all clean and put together unlike Jesse. God he was wonderful. “I mean… I’m sorry, Genji. I didn’t want… to ruin your friendship.” When Genji looked up at him, Hanzo’s gaze shot straight down, more apologies being muttered.

“Seriously Hanzo, what were you thinking. One wrong move, and you undo all your progress.”

“Hey!” Jesse snapped now. “Don’t scold him like a kid. That there could be the wrong move.”

“Don’t fucking talk to me right now Jesse.” Genji snapped right back.

“Genji…” 

“What?!” Genji snapped, before his face softened, Zen being the one to speak. He seemed calm as ever, merely showing a cut phone chord. 

“What the hell?” Genji stormed over, snatching the chord and taking a closer look, before breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s not cut… we might have mice… fuck.”

“I’ll look for more signs of mice tomorrow love. For now I suggest some chamomile tea and then bed. Perhaps a good rest will clear everyone’s minds and we can talk properly in the morning.” 

“But Zen…” Genji looking exhausted, just gestured towards Jesse, who was attempting to comfort Hanzo at this very moment. 

“Let them be, dearest. Sometimes this sort of change can be the perfect salve for a wound. Love is miraculous and strange, and if they can find it together, should we not be happy for them and celebrate?” 

Genji’s shoulders sagged and he nodded tiredly, leaning into his lover’s embrace. “You’re right. As usual.” 

Zenyatta then moved to make everyone tea, pushing Genji in the direction of his friend and brother. 

“Listen… I’m sorry. I might have overreacted. And… you went out today Hanzo. That’s incredible. You’re doing so good. And I’m sorry if I’ve harmed that progress in any way.” There was a moment of silence, before Hanzo spoke, perhaps the most he’d ever spoken to Genji in one go, if the younger brother’s face was anything to go by. 

“I’m sorry too… Genji. I’m sorry about everything… I’m sorry about what I’ve done. I’m sorry about you… mother and father….” His words broke down into sobs and Genji was there in an instant, wrapping his arms around his brother tightly. 

“Oh, Hanzo. I forgave you years ago. I’m sorry it took me so long to be there for you.” 

Jesse looked from the two brothers, a mess of limbs and tears, to Zenyatta, who had a puzzled look on his face. He gave him a thumbs up and a big ol’ grin. 

///

“Olivia, seriously, it’s three in the morning. Can’t this wait till.. You know, actual morning.” Gabe grumbled as his daughter dragged him to her room. Jack was shuffling behind, rubbing his eyes and yawning. 

“No. No it can’t. I found something out about Hanzo Shimada. Something weird as hell.”

“Seriously. I told you to drop that. Leave the boy alone.” Gabe grumbled, but she had piqued his interest. He was now awake enough to stare expectantly at her computer. 

“Ok, first things first, this was before he was transferred to the lodge that the Zieglers run. Now I mentioned this guy to some friends. And you know Lucio, right? The guy that plays music that has the medical boosters in the air waves… he played at Hanzo Shimada’s previous asylum, before he was transferred. Lucio talked to him about the lodge, but the thing is, Hanzo was a no show for the performance. They had him in isolation for the whole thing. Yet Lucio asked to speak to the patient in that room number. They recorded the whole thing. Now here I have the recording from the asylum cameras. AND the recording from Lucio’s personal camera, which is also rigged like his sound system. It’s supposed to pick up on energies and tell you what the patient needs. Like, gadgets for psychologists.”

“Alright, alright, you’ve had your spiel. Play the damned video Olivia.”

Grinning, she spun on her chair, and with one click, had the videos project on her wall. So the old men could see better. 

The black and white video, with old school camera footage seemed normal as can be. The camera from Lucio was… not ok. Behind Hanzo there was a shadow. A person that looked as corporeal as the man himself. Yet it seemed empty, hollowed out and devoid of life, emptier, darker eye sockets bored into it’s face. 

“I’ll play them with the default Audio first.”

“Hey, Hanzo, right? I heard you’re not doing so well. What’s up man?” Lucio started, and a tired, gaunt Hanzo looked up.

“I need help… no one will help me. I’m so tired…” Something in the shadow creature flared, and Hanzo sagged a bit. 

“Hey, you feeling ok? Do they even give you water down here?” Lucio reached out to help, but something like a tendril struck him. He didn’t react in the slightest, completely unaware at the time. “Listen, I know a place that could really help. Truly help. The people there, they live for helping people like you. They don’t care about drugs, or locking people up, or trying to get you back out asap. They care about healing. About…” Lucio paused. Cleared his throat. Went to speak again. And then he threw up. Hanzo went limp, and the shadow beast looked directly into Lucio’s camera.

“And rewind, play it with the audio layer that you can hear this shit on.” 

There was hell of a lot of white noise. A screech each time the beast leeched from Hanzo or Lucio. And dark laughter, rumbling in a dry chest made of old paper. 

Olivia paused again, and spun her chair around to face her fathers, smiling smugly. 

“Is that weird or what? Either that’s some sick cgi, or Jesse is making worse friends than before.” 

“Olivia…”

Gabe’s voice wavered, warning. 

“Right, sorry. I know I’m not supposed to joke about Jesse like that-”

“Olivia, shut up and come here.” Gabe held out his hand, eyes glued to the wall. Olivia frowned and turned to look, when a clawed hand made of shadow and plaster wrapped around her neck, lifting her off the ground. Gabe grabbed her body, holding her so she didn’t choke out. Jack dashed into the hall, returning seconds later with a fire axe. With one chop, the creature fell to pieces, and dust, and Gabe and Olivia fell back onto her bed. 

“What the fuck?!” Jack called. HAlf blind, even he knew what he’d seen was real. 

“Jack?! She won’t wake up???!!!!” Gabe was shaking Olivia, he held his fingers around her wrist. “Call an ambulance! She’s got a pulse, but its-”

“Dad….” There were a few dry coughs, but Olivia’s eyes opened slowly, both her fathers breathing in relief. 

“Oh thank god. Sweat pea. Are you ok?”

“Dad, what the fuck was that?” She rasped, trying to sit up. Gabe gave her enough room to do so, though couldn’t help but hover incase she needed him. 

And then, in one moment of clarity, he looked to Jack. “Call Ana.”


	2. New Friends

“Well whatever this thing is, it is no longer here. You’re sure you won’t show me the videos?” Ana asked, tilting her head. 

“Positive. Ana… I trust your expertise, but I’m not risking bringing that thing back into this house.” Gabriel spoke sternly, glancing over the banister into the loungeroom, where Jack, Olivia and Reinhardt were playing go fish. 

“I’m hardly an expert Gabriel.” Ana remarked with a scoff before sighing. “I doubt there are any real experts on this sort of thing. But if you want any sort of help, I need to see that video.”

Eventually, Gabriel relented. Olivia had set it all up earlier despite her father’s protests that she even go back into that room. Right now, he was glad she did. He had no clue what bazillion passwords she kept, and he didn’t want to risk opening the wrong things. He liked not knowing what she got up to as a professional hacker. 

Ana watched the videos at least a dozen times, initially to just make sure she had every detail, and then a few more to see if she could get the entity to appear. Nothing. She sighed, leaning back as she contemplated. And when she did speak, Gabriel listened eagerly. 

“For now… I would like to assume that this entity, though still tied to Mr Shimada, is currently separated from him. I’m not sure if you noticed, but the videos changed, ever so slightly. Sometimes it would look at me, others it would not. More consistently it stared at Mr Shimada. Now… I do not believe that the device that recorded the video is responsible for the separation of the entity from Hanzo Shimada, but it is keeping a link between this world, and the other world open.” A pause, a concerned expression. 

“What is it?” Gabriel asked, pursing his lips. Ana very rarely needed to contemplate in the middle of a conversation. But in this moment, she seemed ever so slightly lost, and then she returned. 

“...This, recording. It is on the internet. Olivia said a friend sent it to her? That means other people have seen this. This creature will continue to lash out, but I believe it is not lashing out randomly for the sole purpose of hurting people. It’s looking for its host. And when it finds Hanzo once more, I believe anyone close to him will be truly in danger.”

“So… what do we do? Can we stop it?” Gabe felt a sickening coil in his chest, the creature staring out of the screen at him. 

“Well the most effective method would be to kill the host. But we’re not going down that road, I assume?” She asked, smiling with that motherly all knowing look. Gabriel sighed.

“No… Jesse is kind of sweet on this guy. I don’t think he’d forgive me if we ran in and murdered his boyfriend.” Ana chuckled, happy for a brief moment before returning to her contemplation. 

“Then… I need help. I know some people, and they know more people. You know how it is. In the mean time, I think it best if we remove Mr Shimada from this… connected environment. No internet, no phones…”

“So, like ground them? Cut the power to their house?” Gabriel scoffed, but Ana wasn’t laughing. 

“No. He needs to go somewhere where there is a zero percent chance he can be reached. No connections of any kind. And it would help if he wasn’t aware. The less he knows, the better. Knowing about this might open up the subconscious to reach out for the entity.”

Gabriel scratched his chin, straining to think, when a familiar voice broke the silence. 

“I think I might know somewhere.” Jack smiled at Gabriel, walking in and taking his hand. “My parents farm. They were old school, even for their time. No electricity. Gas… everything. And you can’t get a signal out there to save your life. Only thing is, getting Hanzo to go there willingly.”

Gabriel’s fingers snapped, and a grin lit up his eyes. “The land is gorgeous out there… He’s an artist right? Jesse just got some new equipment for his camera? Send them on a… creative excursion. We already do the whole matchmaker parent thing. Just… turn it up a few notches, they won’t suspect a thing.”

“And Genji?” Jack asked, already worried that the younger brother would absolutely lose his shit if Hanzo went on some spur of the moment vacation to the middle of nowhere with no possible means of contact. 

“He needs to be in the know.” Ana said matter of factly. “He might be able to help us. This entity might be the one responsible for what happened to him. If so, it may try to target him again. Besides… His fiance is one of those people I know.”

///

“You sure you’re ok with this?” Jesse was entirely unsettled. His fathers suggest a rustic get away for him and Hanzo, and after everything, Genji jumps in and agrees. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since Genji and Zen had come home, and now Jesse’s car was the one packed for a holiday. “Doesn’t this seem the least bit fishy to you?”

“Ofcourse it does Jesse. But Jack and Gabe swore me to secrecy. Zen is in on it too, so I’m kind of outnumbered here. But I promise, when you get back, I’ll let you in on everything.” Genji offered a smile, guiding Jesse to his car with a hand at his back.

“Just, use my card for groceries and anything else you need. Jack told me this place was a bit of a… dump. So you know. Go to town making yourself comfortable.”

“You sure? What if you need it?” 

“Please Jesse. We have Zen’s savings for emergencies, and Hanzo’s accounts were sorted a couple of weeks ago. His card should be arriving soon, so worst case we’ll use his account.”

“Yeah, but-”

“And Jesse, stay safe…” Genji gave him a worrying look before he cleared his throat and ran his fingers through the neon green mess of hair on his head. “Because there’s you know… wild animals and stuff. And rusty metal. Just… Be careful, and look after my brother.”

“... Ok Genji. I promise.” 

Jesse smiled and gave his best friend a hug. Hanzo emerged from the house a little while later with Zen, smiling and nodding along at whatever the other was saying. 

Once their farewells were said, they stopped off at Jesse’s house. Everyone was already waiting outside. Hell, even Ana and Rein were there, Jesse’s bags packed and ready to go. Despite his questions, they kept insisting they get going, have a fun time and such. Jesse was unsettled, until Hanzo took his hand and squeezed it. 

“Your family is really kind.” Something in Jesse’s mind finally let go, relaxed and allowed him to smile. 

“Yeah… they’re the best.” 

They waved as they drove off, ready to start their adventure. 

The last time they’d been on a lengthy drive, Hanzo had spent his time watching videos on his tablet, yet had reluctantly given it up at Genji’s insistence. Thankfully, Jesse had a choice collection of music. And they spent the next several hours doing shuffle karaoke. 

When they arrived at the farm, it was that time of day where the sun was too low to properly light everything up, but it wasn’t quite dark yet. It was too hard to make out details of the house, so Jesse figured he’d see how things were come morning. Right now his main concern was getting inside, and making them dinner. 

The key still fit the front door lock, good. And the lights were the same dodgy gas lamps that had been here when Jack and Gabe brought him here one summer. They kept the place as a little getaway, but couldn’t exactly take the best care of it from the city. 

Hanzo walked in behind him, clean sheets and bedding all bundled up together in his arms. Genji had been worried the dusty old sheets would be moth eaten or something. He wasn’t entirely wrong, and boy did it feel good to collapse into clean sheets at the end of a long day. They didn’t even completely undress before both men fell asleep, content and happy.

///

“Oh man… Hanzo is gonna be pissed if he finds out I met her before he did. I don’t even watch her streams.” Genji laughed, fidgeting with his fingers, Zen’s arm around his shoulders to comfort him. “Why didn’t you tell him you knew her?” 

Zen just laughed and shrugged. “Would you believe me if I said she’s me best man’s partner?” 

“I would not. She looks, sixteen?”

“She is nineteen, and Lucio is twenty one. They met years ago, but only started dating this year. Her parents don’t approve, but she’s never been one to care what they think of her life.”

“So… now she’s a professional gamer? I’m sure they love that too.”

“Professional gamer on the side. I’m studying engineering.” A hand was offered, and Genji shook it, a little embarrassed at being caught out. “Come on Zen, you know it’s not polite to discuss a lady’s age.”

“My dear, you are anything but a lady.” Zen chuckled when she stuck her tongue out and pulled the finger at him, before she gestured to the car. 

“Come help.”

Zen did just that, following her to the boot of the car when her pulled out a neon green wheelchair. They unfolded it and locked it into place, wheeling it to the front passenger seat where they helped a familiar face climb into it.

“I… recognise him.” Genji frowned, tilting his head.

“That’s Lucio Correia dos Santos.” Gabe spoke, spooking the hell out of Genji. He always managed to scare him like that, but he figured this time wasn’t on purpose. “He’s the one who filmed your brother. And as a result, lost his ability to walk.”

“That’s… horrible.” 

“Hey, no hard feelings about it man.” Lucio beamed, the definition of a ray of sunshine from the confines of his chair as Zen pushed him up the driveway. “Zen told me he’s doing great! And we’re here to help make sure it stays that way.”

Genji’s heart and stomach did that thing where they simultaneously flip and trade places. And apparently these weren’t the only people happy to help. 

A series of people showed up throughout the evening, Jack and Gabe’s house full of laughter and smiles as hearty, home-cooked meals were passed around. 

Lena wasn’t exactly a scientist or exorcist. She was someone who tested everyone’s inventions. She was a pilot by trade, and her girlfriend Emily was here to support her as she supported her friend Winston, a rather large scientist, who specialized in neuropsychology AND astrophysics.

Sombra was happily chatting away with a rather refined looking woman, Satya, who worked with Vishkar, a competitor for prosthetics and other such high end enhancements. If she was to be believed, she could open doorways with her own modified technology into the other world. She told them she should be able to stop the creature from passing through and latching onto someone new. And worst case, she should be able to pull anyone who found themselves on the wrong side back through. 

Mei was a climatologist, and Genji had no idea how that would come in handy. She tried explaining to him how it would help, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. With her was her wife, Zarya, a pink haired weightlifter who looked too big for the room and was excitedly challenging Rein to feats of strength. It was never explained what she did for a living, but what Genji did understand was that if the entity tried to latch onto anyone, she would, both physically and mentally wrestle it off. Her mind was apparently quite resistant to the supernatural, so she used that immunity as a shield for others. 

They all seemed familiar, as if having worked together multiple times… And according to Jack, this was not all of them. Hopefully this was all they would need. But he called them by a name that Genji had heard once before. The name Jack and Gabe’s security business had launched as be he saw surprisingly little of. 

Overwatch.

And still he had no idea how and why Zenyatta knew of this but he did not? What could Zen do? Meditate the entity to death? Genji was somewhat freaking out. He needed to step out, get some air. And Gabe joined him, silently smoking. It wasn’t tobacco he smelled, or weed even. It was… something different? Gabe laughed when he saw the look on Genji’s face.

“Ana makes them. And don’t ask, I haven’t got a clue what’s in them.”

“Then what about all of this? I thought Overwatch was security.”

“It is… kinda.” Silence for a moment while he took a drag, and then exhaled. Genji swore he saw a flicker of colour and light within the smoke. “Back when Jack and I were in the army, we got trapped, remember?”

“Yes. Jesse says the building you were in collapsed around you.”

“Right. Well, we weren’t the only people in that building. Alotta folks died, and just like us, they were still trapped. Confused. Angry.” Another pause, this time to steady a tremble in his hand. “Ana was the leader of the unit that saved us. But Jack and I were different people. We were a lot of different people all at once. Ana, she helped save us from the rubble that was our own bodies. But we were never the same. No one else really got it, labelled it as ptsd. Jack was the only one who knew what I was going through, and vice versa. I don’t even remember my divorce… just remember the day Jack asked me to marry him.”

“... Gabriel, that’s sweet and all but-”

“We tracked down Ana. She told us everything she knew, and then we told her what had been going on with us. We tracked down more people. And more. And more. Eventually that led to less people who were just like us, and more and more who needed help. Some joined us. Some chose different paths. Most were happy to return to a normal life. So, Overwatch was born. We wanted to help. And then, we found people who didn’t want to be helped. People who gave themselves over, or bargained with the other side… Overwatch wasn’t enough. So, I started a little branch of it called Blackwatch.”

Genji scoffed, looking away. “Let me guess, witch hunters and monster slayers?”

“.... Yeah. Pretty much.” Gabe just nodded, giving a shrug before taking one final drag of his smoke before stamping it out on the porch. “Zen helped us… his methods are… a little extreme.”

“Extreme? Zen. Listen, Gabriel… Zen is the least extreme thing in my life right now.”

“Well… whatever you want to believe. He took an interest in your family. Mentioned something about spirit dragons, and off he went. He was certain they had something to do with your brother, and then he met you. I don’t think he planned for that.”

“Yeah well, I still don’t really believe you on that part Gabriel.”

“No seriously, Genji, what that man can do is some next level shit-”

“Next level shit indeed.” Both Genji and Gabriel jumped at the third voice, a smiling Zenyatta standing behind them. Gabriel cleared his throat and excused himself, patting Genji on the shoulder as he left. When they were alone, Zen’s arm wrapped around Genji’s shoulders and he tilted his head to look at him better. 

“... I love you very much Genji.” He spoke softly, almost afraid of what Genji might do. But the young Shimada simply sighed and sagged his shoulders. 

“I have not doubted that for one second. It’s just… a lot to take in. And I’m worried about Hanzo. How can they be certain that he will be safe out there?”

“They can’t be. But certainty isn’t something we can always rely on. We can rely on hope. And one another. If it all goes to plan, your brother will live a normal life, none the wiser.”

///

Jesse smiled as he took yet another picture of Hanzo. They were exploring the property today, reaching hiking territory with the amount of land Jack’s family had kept forested. 

If he remembered correctly, beyond the tree line, there was a little watering hole of soughts. It was hot today, so he’d suggested they go for a swim. The farmhouse didn’t exactly have air conditioning, and Hanzo took to the idea immediately. 

Thank the stars when they arrived at the stream fed pool, proving Jesse’s memory was on point. He set his camera down on a flat rock, his bag on the ground beside it. Hanzo was already stripping down, back to Jesse as he folded his clothes neatly and set them to the side. Jesse let out a low whistle, and a blushing Hanzo peered over his shoulder at him, smiling a little. 

“You are god damned beautiful, darlin’.” He came in for a kiss, but Hanzo pulled away, stepping into the water and watching Jesse with a sly grin as he sank into the water, moving away from Jesse. Well that was a challenge he just had to accept, struggling to not seem too eager as he shed his own clothes, descending into the water far less gracefully than Hanzo. 

It was chilly on his warm skin, but let’s be real, cooling down was the last thing on his mind. He waded on over to Hanzo, smiling the whole while, absolutely enthralled by the other man. But when he got close enough, Hanzo pushed back, raising himself to have the height advantage for once as he pressed his lips to Jesse’s, slipping his tongue between them.

Jesse obliged, moaning into the kiss as Hanzo explored him, apparently just as eager for more than a quick way to cool down. Hands raked over his chest, grabbing and pulling and scratching. They sank lower, groping his ass, sending a shiver up his spine, when everything came to an abrupt halt, a shrill woman’s voice piercing the air. 

“Oh my! Excuse me! I’m so sorry to interrupt.” Jesse frowned, using his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he glared at her. Hanzo kept his back to her, lowering himself into the water once more, though he remained glued to Jesse’s side.

“The hell are you doing out here lady? This is private property.” Jesse remarked, ready to throw hands with some middle aged white woman in a sunhat. 

“Oh, well I’m from the next farm over. The Morrisons have let us use this little spot since I was a girl. I thought I’d bring my children to cool down, but it seems… occupied.” 

Jesse grumbled, moving to help Hanzo move to the edge while remaining out of sight as possible. “Yeah well, let us get dressed and we’ll be on our way.”

“Oh no, no! That’s completely ok. The water is too…”

“The water is what lady?” Jesse remarked, catching her off guard. “Water too gay? Don’t want your kids to catch it? You come here every summer right?” She nodded, hands folded with a solemn look on her face. “Well you must of grown up with Jack Morrison right?” Another nod. “Well I got news for you sweetheart, Jack Morrison is my old man, and he fucked my other old man right here. And then they switched. And then they brought me here, and baptized me in this gay water, and here I am today. Wake the fuck up. If you’ve been coming here for years, bringing your kids here, then you’d already be gay as hell.” 

“I… was going to say cold. Your lips are blue.” She remarked, and Hanzo laughed, trying to stifle it, but it was too late. 

“Oh… Shit, I’m… sorry?” Jesse coughed, scratching the back of his head and offering an apologetic shrug. 

“It’s not a problem.” She smiled, and when the sounds of little feet got closer, she turned and shooed them away before turning back to Jesse and Hanzo. “Look… we’re having a barbeque this saturday. Why don’t you come on down and we’ll do this whole introduction thing again?” 

“Uh… sure. Sounds… good?” Jesse just felt that curtain of shame draping over him, but the lady merely smiled and waved goodbye as she left. Alone again, he turned to Hanzo who apologised for laughing and kissed Jesse on the cheek. “Sorry Han… Don’t know what came over me?” 

“It’s alright Jesse. I appreciate what you thought you needed to do. It’s nice… to be accepted. To be defended.” 

“Right… Genji told me your folks weren’t too thrilled about it all…” 

Silence passed between them, before Hanzo climbed out of the pool, pulling his clothes on before he even dried properly. 

“I… didn’t kill them because of that.” He spoke, shoulder’s sagging with a kind of exhaustion Jesse couldn’t even begin to imagine. He climbed out too, and walked over to Hanzo, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I’m sorry Hanzo. I didn’t intend to bring that back up for you. You don’t need to tell me why. Anything you tell me is on your terms, and that includes not telling me anything at all.”

Hanzo sighed again, looking at Jesse with a meek smile. “You are a fool, Jesse Mccree, and entirely too wonderful.” 

They walked back to the farmhouse hand in hand, saying little. That night, there was a thunderstorm. And Jesse dreamt Hanzo was at the centre, walking through the empty fields, the lightning striking behind him. Jesse called out to Hanzo, and he stopped, turning around to face him. The lightning caught up. And Jesse shot up in bed, the old metal bed frame squeaking in the process. But something worse occurred to him. Hanzo wasn’t there beside him. 

He pulled on yesterday’s dust jeans, hopping on one leg as he did them up before running out of the room. He called out, and nothing. No answer, no carbon fibre pitter pats on the creaky wooden floor. He ran outside, called louder, and this time was answered, but a rather insistent hand at the barn door, gesturing for Jesse to come. 

He ran, eager to make sure Hanzo was fine, and to his relief, the other man was entirely unscathed. Unscathed and guarding a big old dog, probably used for pig hunting, licking it’s paw. There was blood, and the dog seemed unwilling to move. 

“I gave her some water and a packet of mince. But she’s so heavy. I can’t get her to move.”

“Yeah I’ll bet.” Jesse laughed and knelt down, giving the big girl a pat. Her mouth opened as she panted away, but it looked like a smile to Jesse. “Maybe we can move her together. Though I reckon she’s just being lazy. We’ll get her fixed up and find her home, yeah? Maybe that lady from yesterday.” 

“Sounds good.” To reinforce the agreement, Hanzo gave Jesse a big ol smile and a thumbs up. And then came the hard work, moving the patient.


	3. Striking Twice

Hanzo ran, weaving through trees and bushes, heart racing. His life was in danger. Jesse’s too, but he’d lost the other man a while ago, the scenery passing by in a blur. And then a surface root thought to hinder him. He tumbled to the ground. Excited barking caught up to him and the cheerful laughter of a dozen children as the piled on him to prevent his escape. A familiar chuckle lit up his heart as Jesse sauntered into sight, a few stray leaves in his hair. 

Hanzo grinned, showing his hands in surrender so that he might sit up but the children wouldn’t budge. 

“No! You ran away last time!” One of the younger ones called, freckled cheeks puffed up in a pout. 

“I swear I am done running. You win.” Hanzo laughed at the resounding cry of victory as the children dispersed and Jesse clapped their hands together, pulling him up to his feet. As soon as he had announced his loss, the children had already run off, looking for a new game to amuse themselves. 

“‘Reckon we should head back? Lunch should be ready now.” Jesse mused, and Hanzo nodded, following him quickly, patting the dog on the head. She was a bloodhound as the internet had told Jesse, and the Lindholm family had no idea where she came from. And the trip to the vet had only proved useful in telling them she had no chip.

In the meantime, she seemed happy enough to sleep on their porch or follow them around all day. And she seemed to really enjoy chasing the million Lindholm children around. 

“Oh! There you are!” The eldest of the children, a young woman in fact, came up to them, a cheerful grin on her face, the perfect accessory to the grease. “Mama called for lunch, but we were worried you didn’t hear us. Where are the kids?” 

“Thanks Brigitte. They ran off towards the back of the house.” Jesse nodded in her direction, and she left them with hurried thanks.

The lindholm farm was less of a farm, and more of a workshop for Brigitte’s father, Torbjorn. The farmland itself was sequestered into paddocks that were either being rented out or housed the children’s animals. Torbjorn fixed the locals’ tractors and things, but he tinkered away like some kind of mad professor on inventions Jesse couldn’t even imagine a purpose for. 

Ingrid Lindholm was a psychologist by trade, but spent most of her days juggling children. She said nothing of the day at the watering hole, and greeted Jesse and Hanzo like old friends when they arrived. Hanzo had practically melted into the warm, motherly hug that enveloped him. Jesse tried multiple times to repeatedly apologize for his outburst, but she waved him off and continued on with preparing lunch. 

She beamed at them when they rounded back to the front yard, a fare trek considering the monstrosity of a house they had to circle. She pulled them over and sat them across from her and her husband. She left them to help Torbjorn bring out stacks of meat and salads, and the last dish had barely touched the table before their herd of children reappeared, a disgruntled Brigitte behind them. 

Looking upon her daughter, Ingrid smiled and touched her cheek. “Thankyou darling.” A few more words were exchanged between them, too quiet to hear, before finally all were seated. 

Then came the awkward moment where Hanzo and Jesse had to link hands with them until the whole family were joined in a ring. Ingrid led the prayer, thanking god for their food, the company and the sun shining down upon them. Hanzo seemed uncomfortable, but Jesse dared not interrupt the pre meal ritual. 

Finally, when they finished with an amen, Hanzo’s shoulders sagged and he looked to Jesse for leadership on what to eat. 

“So, how did a swedish family come to live on a farm way out here?” Jesse asked, starting to serve himself some pasta salad. 

Ingrid looked to Torbjorn, but the man was already chowing down, earning an endearing eye roll from his wife before she spoke for them. “I practiced in the city. Torbjorn was an engineering professor. Our flat grew too small rather quickly. So we came out here. This property used to be empty land that the Morrisons owned. They hadn’t farmed it in over a decade and offered it to us when they saw us looking.” There was a fond smile there. “Jack’s parents were still here then, but were unable to maintain their farm any longer. Jack had left for the war, and they needed help. We helped, and of course paid for the land, and in return they helped us build a house with enough space for our family. And helped add three of the last five rooms before they moved with Jack and Gabriel… Are they doing well?” 

Jesse paused, a little lost for a moment before he frowned. “‘Fraid not. Mary passed away from cancer, and John… couldn’t take it anymore. He got real sick, died of a broken heart I guess.” That had been a horrible year. Jesse had dropped out of university that year, Jack and Gabe almost split the fighting got so bad, and of course Jack’s parents passed away. John Morrison had been a bit rough around the edges, his opinions a little…. Not great, but both loved both Olivia and Jesse as if they were their own grandchildren. He remembered Mary teaching him how to bake. Jack was insanely good at baking, but Mary was a goddess with all kinds of sweets and desserts. Jesse was still working off a particular mud cake from all those years ago. 

Ingrid’s face dropped a little at the news and she sighed sadly. “Such a shame. We will have to find their graves next time we are in the city and pay our respects properly.” She went to speak again, when the tablecloth flew up, throwing food over the whole table and everyone, the winds picking up from nowhere. Jesse swore, apologised, swore again and clambered to help rescue the food. The children were screaming in delight, and a food fight broke out. And now instead of wrestling the tablecloth, Ingrid and Torbjorn had to wrangle their children. 

More screams filled the air, delighted and shocked, when cold water drizzled and poured out of no where. The table flipped as the kids scrambled to run inside, the wind carrying the tablecloth across the lawn. They chased it down, grabbed what they could of the food, before running inside. In the warm air of the large kitchen, the adults laughed, exhausted. 

“Where did that come from?” Brigitte asked, peering out the window. “The weather station said it was going to be sunny all day?” 

“Oh you know those crack pots are wrong eight times out of ten.” Torbjorn exclaimed, joining her at the window as he scratched his chin. “There goes all that hard work we put into lunch today.” He grumbled, but Ingrid chuckled, walking over and squeezing his shoulder. 

“Nevermind. We’ll order some pizza. I’m sure the children won’t complain.” He merely hurrumped at that, and she made for the phone. It was then that Jesse felt a missing pressence at his side, and the dog started barking. Pawing at the door, whining and hopping about insistently. 

///

“Breath in. Hold. Hold…. Breath out.” Ana squeezed Genji’s hand with a reassuring smile. “I know it’s hard Genji, but you need to tell us about those last days before Hanzo attacked you.” 

Genji repeated her breathing exercise several times before finally, he was able to speak, his knee bouncing incessantly. 

“Hanzo… my parents found out he was gay. Saw him holding hands with some guy at the mall. I spent that weekend at a friend’s place. They didn’t want me around all the arguing. I got back the night before. And they were… happy. When I got home, it looked like they had all being yelling. But they were crying, and smiling and hugging… I don’t know what happened, but Hanzo seemed at peace… he seemed happy. I hadn’t seen him smile in years… I didn’t…” Genji sighed. Ana squeezed his hand again and he repeated the breathing exercises. “We had some old swords… big ones, blunt and on display. We had them over the fire place… When I got home from school, one was missing. The wall and the fire place were scratched up. They were heavy… I guess he had a hard time getting it down… I…. I found mother… She was in the hallway, her body broken like it had been crushed… Father was the same… he was on the stairs… Hanzo… he was in the kitchen. He was… he was singing… or humming.”

“What was he singing Genji? Can you repeat it for us?” 

Genji shook his head, closing his eyes. “There were no words… Just sound… I don’t… I don’t remember the tune.” 

Ana sighed, took a moment, before sitting up straight. “That’s okay Genji. We will find out. Did you get everything this morning?” 

Genji nodded. “I have it all. Medical files, interviews, reports… I didn’t know until today that he went through so many doctors? He was transferred eight times before the lodge. And they were the only place I haven’t been able to get in contact with.”

“Why is that?” Ana asked, frowning. 

“Their number is disconnected. Zen suggested we drive out there if this stuff isn’t enough.” 

Ana nodded and smiled, before leading him to the kitchen for tea. It cleansed him from the inside, and he felt all the more relaxed for it.

That afternoon, the living room and dining room were covered in paper. They only listened and watched recordings in a cleansed room, and were ‘decontaminated’ upon leaving. 

Hanzo Shimada’s face was plastered all over one wall, different photos at different stages of his life. All looked terrible. He was gaunt, too thin, covered in cuts or unkempt. Genji had never seen him this way. It scared him more than the monster they were hunting. He had been watching all the interviews, both plain and filtered by Lucio. He had to leave when he saw the security footage of Hanzo’s attempted suicide. He clawed his way through security mesh, and jumped. He didn’t see the aftermath. Just the sudden lack of Hanzo in the footage and a bloody mess of a window. 

Over dinner, Ana debriefed all of them on what information had been gathered so far. Afterwich, Gabriel insisted on binge watching kids movies for the night. He had been pretty big on policing everyone so far, making sure no one was overwhelmed with the terrible. Tonight, everyone chipped in for Thai. Genji and Zen were sharing green curry… or Zen was eating, and Genji poked at his with his fork, too focused on Ana. 

“Right, First of all, I want to thank everyone for the work you have been doing. Thanks to you all, we will finish going through everything by tomorrow evening. And thankyou to Gabriel and Jack, for helping us be comfortable for our stay.” 

“Shit Ana, you guys are helping us. We should be thanking you.” Gabe smiled, and when he caught Genji looking at him with a puzzled expression, he merely winked. 

Ana just smiled and got on with discussing their findings for the day. 

Hanzo Shimada, 19 years old when he murdered his parents, and attempted to murder his brother. 

Unlike Genji, he had not been born in America. He migrated with his family when he was three from Hanamura, Japan. The Shimada family, from what Olivia had gleened from the internet, was an ancient family, surrounded by myths and legends. Today it was a crime syndicate, small, but powerful, with influence in most countries. 

Hanzo and Genji’s parents had moved to America to escape that life. Their father had bargained with Interpol. Witness protection for information. It landed several key members of the family in jail, and put a bounty on the family’s heads. Even the toddler, Hanzo. Olivia, ever curious, found a way into the family archives. Genji’s parents, and his brother, had been written off of the family tree. According to legend, the heirs to the family inherited magical properties and spiritual companions. So when none other than the kumicho sold his clan out, they were black listed by the elders. Olivia highlighted whole pages of information, and wanted to investigate curses. She was of the impression both Hanzo and Genji had been cut off in more than just name, and that perhaps the elder brother was cursed. She wasn’t too sure how Japanese witchcraft worked, but she seemed intent on finding out more. 

Hanzo was your typical child with parents that not only expected, but demanded the best from you. He got perfect grades, and was on medication for depression and anxiety at the age of 12. Still his parents pushed him. And were furious at his refusal to go to university. Finding out he was gay was the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

Ana played a video for them all, something she deemed safe. It was an interview with Hanzo again, this time an earlier one, with the police. He was distraught, and tired, even a little confused. He said he and his parents fought a lot. Eventually, he snapped completely. Not to kill them, but to tell them how he really felt. What he really wanted. Who he really was. They were going to send him to art school… they asked him about the boy he’d been with. Everything was finally going to go right. He broke down once more, sobbing into his arms. Why did he do it? He had a chance at a good life. His parents wanted to be there for him for the first time. 

Multiple interviews made it clear Hanzo had no clear recognition of the murders. He was helping his mother make dinner… He blinked once, and the scenery changed from that of his parents arguing over spices, to the broken body of his brother. He dropped the sword and scrambled to the kitchen. He called for the ambulance, called the police. He didn’t understand. He never denied he was the one responsible… but he never changed his opinion that he had no motive. He loved his parents, loved his brother. All conflicts had been resolved. He was happy. He did not know why he killed them.

There had been one video, the one where Hanzo learned Genji was alive that offered the first real evidence of the entity they were hunting. There was silence, and then his eyes opened wide, a look of relief on his face. It was two months since he’d been admitted, five since the murder, and he was laughing, and screaming. He looked to the corner of the room and gave the wall the finger. He screamed one clear thing over and over. “Take that mother fucker!” The video was dated the same as the suicide attempt. Coincidently, his outburst at the wall had him restrained to the bed the whole night. No one could report how he had escaped. After that, he retreated within himself. No more outbursts for a year. 

Multiple reports indicated that he had a tendency to sit alone, muttering to himself. Sometimes he would shrink like he was being threatened, before nodding repeatedly. His outlook changed when new inmates arrived at his last institute. Jamie Fawkes and Mako Rutledge. A pair of unique patients that only behaved if they were allowed to remain joined at the hip. The spied Hanzo, and doctors reported that he opened up greatly. He made actual progress. Ate without prompting. He gained weight. He looked forward to spending time in the activity room. 

And then one day, they found Jamie on the floor, nursing a broken nose. The cameras only recorded the man toppling over. And all three insisted, together and separately, that Hanzo didn’t hit him. He withdrew after that. Said it was the only way to protect his friends. His friends ofcourse didn’t listen. They obtained multiple injuries, but there was never any evidence that Hanzo was responsible. It was not long after that they were all transferred together to the lodge. And that’s where the information stopped. 

The rest of the paperwork and interviews weren’t technically necessary for the rest of the story. But on the off chance they contained any one shred of helpful information, it would be best to go through it all. 

Later that night, half way through Shrek 3, Reinhardt’s cell phone started going on, blaring “I’ve had the time of my life”. 

He excused himself, lumbering into the hallway as he muttered away into the phone. Ana looked after him, a concerned look on her face. Gabriel paused the movie. Reinhardt returned, his shoulders sagging somewhat, a heaving sigh coming from his chest as he looked at Genji, that one good eye burning him with the intensity of it’s stare. 

“.... Hanzo is in hospital. There was a storm. He was struck by lightning. The doctors suspect there was something in his prosthetics that made him…. A beacon of soughts.”

“What do you mean… a beacon? Who called you? Jesse? He’d call me if something went wrong.” Genji felt his a pressure at his temples, heartbeat rising and falling rapidly. 

“I have a friend who lives there. I asked him to keep an eye on your brother.” Reinhardt offered an apologetic look. “He… was struck twice. In the same spot… hence the lightning rod prosthetics theory…” 

“How is Jesse holding up?” Gabriel asked, arms folded in a, you’re gonna give me the information I want even if I have to beat it from you, kinda way. 

“Not good. He was hysterical. The nurses had to sedate him. Hanzo is alive, but Jesse would not cease raving about dreams and storms. I think it best-”

“I’m going.” Gabe said, jaw stiff. “Genji, you wanna come with? We can leave this stuff to these guys.” Gabriel’s stare was intense. Genji could do nothing but say yes. As if he would even consider saying no. The image of his brother’s joy at the news of Genji’s survival was burned into his brain. Maybe a regular person in a regular situation would be mad. But he was relieved. His brother wasn’t responsible. His brother really did love him. And he loved his brother. Genji looked to Zen and squeezed his hand. 

“You gonna be okay here, alone?” 

Zen nodded and smiled, ever so softly. “Ofcourse my dearest. We will help him here. But you help him in person.” 

///

Jesse awoke when he heard a clatter of metal and plastic, jolting awake from a visitor’s lounge in a hospital room. Hanzo was standing upright in the centre of the room, grinning like a mad man, his IV bag trailing on the ground behind him. Jesse hopped to his feet, before needing to steady himself, a little woozy from whatever they stabbed him with. 

It didn’t matter anyhow. Hanzo pushed him back onto the couch, climbing over him and crushing their lips together. Jesse could feel the other man’s heart beat through the hospital gown he was wearing. 

“Hey is everything alriAGH!” Brigitte rounded the corner, before backing up, hand over her eyes. Hanzo frowned as he looked over his shoulder, but it clicked with Jesse immediately.

“Ah… Darlin’... your ass is showing.”

Hanzo’s cheeks reddened and he hurriedly clambered off of Jesse to sit beside him, worrying his lip between his teeth as his eyes flitted from Jesse to Brigitte and then to Jesse again. 

“It’s safe Brigitte.” Jesse proclaimed, holding his arm around Hanzo protectively. He could only imagine how embarrassed he must be. 

“Ok… sorry about that…” Brigitte smiled and stepped into the room, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Um, so you guys have been out for a few hours… and, you have some visitors.” 

Jesse looked confused, Hanzo moreso… and then a towering figure of fatherly worry stormed around the corner, a less towery brother behind him, just as worried. Genji ran to Hanzo immediately, leaning down to hug him before fussing and check his arms and face, looking for scars. He found nothing, swore and hugged Hanzo again. “What the hell happened?” 

“Genji… I… don’t know? I feel great. I feel alive!” Hanzo smiled brightly, hugging Genji back. Tight and warm, like Ingrid hugged him. Genji’s chest shuddered and he caved into his older brother’s arms. 

“Thank god you’re ok. I was so fucking worried.” He sobbed and Jesse carefully removed himself from the couch so Genji could sit. Gabe helped him stand, hugging him something fierce when he was steady. 

“Are /you/ ok Jesse? They told me you were freaking out.” Jesse frowned, before his memory unfogged and he took his father’s hand, leading him from the room. Or… indicated that’s where he wanted to go and Gabriel helped him along. Once outside the room and down the hall a bit, Jesse looked Gabe dead in the eye.

“Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy… but I knew this was going to happen. I had a dream. I Hanzo was walking, and I called out to him. He got hit by lightning.” 

“That’s… weird. He just, randomly got hit in your dream?” 

“Well.. no… sorta? It was following him… It couldn’t catch him though. I stopped him. And then it got him…. I…” Jesse sighed, leaning on his father in a tired embrace. “Am I responsible? Did I put him in danger, dad?” 

“What? No. Jesse, no fucking way. You didn’t cause this.” Gabe smiled and kissed his son’s hair several times, wrapping his arms around him once more. “You are not to blame Jesse. No one can fault you for trying to help.” Jesse sobbed once and more of his weight rested in Gabriel’s hold. The older man held him for a long time, let him get it all out, brushing his fingers through his hair while humming here and there.


	4. Accumulating Confusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am kinda rushing it. I don't it in me to do a long fic right now, but I will still try to fit all the ideas I had in.   
This chapter has a not great end, but I will assure you now, the last chapter should hopefully explain all the plot holes, and make it a happy ending.

“How did you even know to come down? I tried calling but the reception here is shit.” Jesse sighed, setting his dry hospital sandwich to the side. Hanzo was asleep again, worn out from all the tests doctors were running, Genji scrolling on his phone in the chair beside him. The doctors were baffled. A man could survive a lightning strike. Two was… bizarre. They didn’t want to risk anything, but they could only keep them here so long. Hanzo seemed fine. Better than fine. 

“The Lindholm’s called us.” Gabriel shot Jesse a smile, absolutely butchering his jello. “Last time we were here, Jack was showing off pictures of you and Olivia.”

“Did you ask them to watch us or something?” Jesse didn’t like that idea. But it didn’t seem like something his dads would do. 

“Course not. We mentioned you’d be staying at the farm, but we didn’t ask them to do anything. You know, just to make sure they knew their new neighbours were temporary and all.” Gabe added the last part, chuckling awkwardly as he scratched his chin. Jesse seemed to accept this explanation with a resigned huff, fiddling with his own hands. 

“Well, once they let Hanzo out, I guess we should pack it in and head home. Hanzo being struck by lightning seems kinda like a sign that the vacation is over, y’know.” There was something else eating at Jesse. Gabriel saw it in his eyes, like the flicker of a dying fire. 

“Hey now, give it a few more days Jess. I’m sure the Lindholm kids wanna make sure you’re both alright, and don’t you still have to find that dog’s owner?” Jesse shrugged, staring at the toe of his boot, or something far beyond that. 

Gabe hadn’t seen him this blue since Olivia’s car crash. It left her with augments in her spine to allow her to walk, but Jesse claimed he saw it. Dreamt it. Knew it was going to happen, how and where. He said nothing. The crash happened. 

During the arrest after his failed bank robbery, no one but Jesse was harmed by the bomb, but there was no way he could know the alley he threw the bomb into was devoid of life. He knew that the building next door was closed for renovations. No one else was hurt. He said he just knew. He knew important things when he needed to know them. 

Ana said it was future sight. Jack thought it was something else. And Jack never liked telling Ana she was wrong. They’d speculated for years that there was a subconscious power. Something that took control and caught falling wine bottles, dodged catapulted mash potatoes and told him something bad was going down. Their files for him simplified it and called it his spidey senses. Just until they knew what was actually responsible. 

In the meantime it hadn’t proved harmful. In fact, it only helped Jesse further his photography. Always able to get the perfect shot. As if he could perfectly capture what his own eyes saw instead of what the lense did. And yet, Jesse always seemed haunted by this ability. Afraid of it, drained by it… Gabe wanted nothing more than to take all that threatened his family and destroy it. He would throw himself on the line if it meant a peaceful life awaited them.

///

Hanzo slept in the car on the ride back to the farm house, a serene smile on his face most of the time. It seemed to ease Jesse to know that the doctors couldn’t find a damned thing wrong. Jesse carried him through the front door, and up to their bedroom, ignoring the still slightly bristling Genji. He didn’t blame him, just didn’t want to deal with that dilemma right now. 

He dropped the now half snoozing Hanzo into the bed with an oof, the other man laughing as Jesse tried to tuck him in, calling him a damned child when he resisted. When he got close enough, Hanzo leaned up and kissed him, gentle and sweet like. He held him there a moment, before he fell back into the pillows, eyes closed as he let out a contented sigh. 

“I love you, Jesse.” The mumbled words caught in Jesse’s heart, twisted it around like the roots of an ancient tree. Hanzo was asleep again, and Jesse smiled, reaching over to brush some hair out of his face. 

“Love you too.” He murmured back, before leaving the room. 

Gabe was already tinkering with something in the kitchen. Jesse figured he was going to do that for a couple of days, until he was certain Jesse wasn’t going to self destruct at any given moment. Genji was waiting at the little dining room table, staring at Jesse. 

“He really cares about you.” Genji spoke matter of factly. 

“... Yeah… And I care about him. If that’s what you’re getting at.” Jesse said, sitting across from him, already sagging tiredly. 

“It isn’t… I just…” Genji sighed, slouching a little as well. Even all his fancy augmentations couldn’t take the tired out of his body. “I just hope everything works out for you two. You both deserve a good life. A happy one. And if it’s together, my best friend, my brother… then I should be happy.”

“You being happy doesn’t have to happen overnight Genji. Your overprotectiveness… Being mad at me, I get it.”

Genji looked at him for a long while, something was troubling him, but he couldn’t yet share it. “Just… no matter what Jesse, put him first.” 

Genji never shared what was on his mind, and he passed out on the lounge not long after. Jesse found an old blanket that wasn’t entirely falling apart and now tucked in the younger Shimada. He loved this one too. His best friend, and brother, partner in crime. He wanted to prove that he could look after Hanzo. 

Gabe found his way to the spare room, giving Jesse a big old hug before departing. And then it was Jesse’s turn to call it a day. He crawled in beside Hanzo, wrapping his arms around him to stave off the cold. Hanzo didn’t seem to mind the cold hands, just happy to curl up with the other man. 

///

Jesse slept like the dead. Hell, it was early afternoon when he caught a view of the clock… but he didn’t exactly have the time to contemplate this fact, biting his knuckles to stifle a moan. He saw a head of black hair below, and when it became apparent that Jesse was awake, Hanzo’s face appeared with a cheeky grin. 

But now Jesse had to contemplate. Hanzo was missing half his hair, sides buzzed down, and there were several shiny pieces of Jewellery now adorning his ears and one piece on the bridge of his nose. The were a little red, freshly done, but still hot as hell. Hanzo seemed to preen as he crawled up and over Jesse, hovering over him. 

“Do you like it?” 

“Like it? Darlin… what the hell? I love it? When..?”

“Genji and I went out this morning. I wanted a new look. A ME look.” Jesse was still gobsmacked, but when Hanzo wrapped his fingers around Jesse’s dick, he had to do something. 

“Ah! Han… We have guests. These walls are thin… I know.” Oh boy did he know. But that didn’t seem to concern Hanzo, his hand giving a little squeeze.

“They’re doing groceries. And your father is getting some things to repair the house. They will be a while.” Well shit… Jesse really couldn’t argue with that. A few more gentle reassurances from Hanzo, and the other man’s continued ministrations turned him into putty. 

Hanzo himself was already pantsless, wearing only a black tee that stretched across his pecs magnificently. Teased Jesse with what was hidden. He couldn’t focus on it though. Focus on anything for that matter. Hanzo didn’t let him, entirely in control and living for it. When he deemed Jesse ready, he seated himself above him, taking little time to lower himself onto Jesse’s cock. 

He was slick and warm, already prepared and waiting for Jesse. Hanzo huffed as he took Jesse in, his control slipping for a moment, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he rocked back and forth a little, testing himself. 

Even knowing they were alone, Jesse still tried to hold his voice down, that is until Hanzo began to rise and fall, hands pressing almost too hard on Jesse’s chest for support as he moved. Too slow to bounce, but just fast enough, that the friction had Jesse yammering sweet nothings. 

He couldn’t take it. Couldn’t handle the pressure on his chest, the building pressure in his gut. His hands took hold of Hanzo’s hips, holding him firm in place as he began to thrust upward. The pressure on his chest relieved, Hanzo’s hands flying up to Jesse’s. 

“F-Fuck… ah! Jesse... “ He laughed and moaned simultaneously, fingers finding the hem of his shirt. He needed the air on his skin. As Jesse continued to jack hammer his ass, he pulled the fabric up, looping it behind his neck, baring his chest. Jesse choked on a swear, pausing a moment when he caught wind of pierced nipples. Oh he wanted to pinch and bite… but they needed to heal first. He would wait, bide his time… And then, he wasn’t sure Hanzo would be able to keep him away. 

Desperate now for a finish, he continued to thrust, his fingers digging into Hanzo’s hips. Hanzo came first, back arching, head thrown back as he painted Jesse’s stomach white. Jesse felt the building pressure, and the release had him seeing stars. Hanzo sighed happily, rocking his hips back and forth slowly as Jesse relaxed. He tilted his head back down…

Jesse saw blue eyes. Unnatural blue, with catlike pupils taking in the view and a smile lined with fangs. He shot up right, heaving breaths and sweating profusely. It was dark… the kind of dark where the sun hadn’t quite set properly. Hanzo was asleep beside him. His hair had been shaved at the sides and he was adorned in peircings, all fresh and a little pink, even in the dark of the room. 

Jesse tried not to wake Hanzo, pulling on a pair of pants before leaving the room. He could smell something amazing coming from the kitchen, and heard the tell tale singing that meant Gabe was cooking. When he saw Jesse appear from the hallway, he grinned and gestured to dinner. 

“Thai green curry with tofu. Genji showed me a recipe he likes.” His smile fell however when he noticed Jesse looking lost. “Jess… Everything ok?”

And Jesse was a child then and there, marching over for a hug, a sob muffled into his dad’s chest. “I don’t…. I don’t know what’s going on…” His voice broke and Gabe’s heart did that flip floppy thing but in a not so good way. A quick flick of the stove dials put the temperature on low, and then Gabriel guided Jesse to the couch, taking a good long look at the tear stained face of his son. 

“More dreams, mijo?” 

“Yes? No… I don’t know… I don’t think I was asleep for this one.” Jesse’s eyes focused on something horrible only he could see. Gabriel could never see the coiling limbs, claws, horns… His eyes shot back to Gabriel, and in them the older man saw a reflection of the world Jesse saw. Something moved. But they eyes were small windows, and only Jesse could see through them clearly. Instead of trying to look into his eyes for an uncomfortably long time, Gabriel pulled Jesse in for another hug, soothing the child with a soft tune and fingers carding through his hair. 

Eventually, Gabriel had to return to the stove, sending Jesse to shower and clean up before dinner. Much to Jesse’s embarrassment, which kind of helped to be honest, the clean up job hadn’t been the greatest, and Gabriel, ever wonderful and understanding, insisted dry spunk was not appropriate dinner wear.

He almost collided with Hanzo in the hallway, who immediately noticed the puffy eyes and his hands cupped Jesse’s face softly. “Are you ok? What happened?” 

Jesse melted into the touch, holding Hanzo close as he closed his eyes. After a short time like this, he spoke, attempting to seem better than he was. “I just… had a really bad nightmare. Do you remember what happened… After we…”

“We passed out? You fell asleep fast. I was trying to clean up, but I fell asleep too. I was just going to the shower…” Hanzo’s cheeks were tinted a lovely shade of pink as he bumbled on. Jesse’s heart eased. 

They showered together, and emerged refreshed and in clean clothes. They helped Gabe set the table, and right on time for dinner, Genji trotted into the house, cheeks pink and a heavily panting bloodhound behind him. 

“She’s a great runner, what’s her name?” He asked, grinning as he saw the spread for dinner.

“Runner? She has a hurt paw.” Jesse frowned and looked over the big girl. She plopped down beside her water bowl, all paws clearly showing, and none of them in the least bit wounded. 

“I know.” Genji said, washing his hands before joining them at the table. “Hanzo and I went to check on her this morning, but when we took the bandage off, no wound. Crazy, right?” 

“Yeah…” Jesse looked to Hanzo, but he seemed to have nothing to say on the matter, merely happy to serve out his own dinner. 

“Oh! And we got pop tarts for dessert.” Gabe clapped his hands together, and Hanzo gave a little yay. “And unfrosted ones for the vegans present.” Genji gave a yay.

The case of the injured paw was forgotten, the four chattering away happily over dinner, Hanzo taking part in all the conversation. Jesse smiled all the while Hanzo spoke. And Gabriel and Genji shot knowing looks to one another. 

/// 

Gabriel was the last awake that night, cleaning up and making sure everyone was tucked in tight and snug. He needed to check his phone. Hadn’t really bothered since arriving due to the regularly shitty signal out here, but when the screen lit up he was hit with a barrage of notifications. He almost dropped the thing trying click the silence button. The vibrating alerts persisted for several minutes. And then Genji’s tablet lit up on the dining room table. And then the kettle started to boil. Lights began to flick on one by one, and the tv burst to life, changing channels all by itself. 

He saw it. Standing behind a news reporter. Distorting Genji’s lockscreen. He unplugged the tv. The kettle. It did nothing. The devices still powered. He marched around the house, finding all the smart devices, throwing them into the trash. But the lights, the television. He didn’t know what to do. What to do? No matter what switches he flicked or what he unplugged, he felt that shadowy figure grow closer. He made for the junction box outside the house. Found it.

Flicked every switch and toggle… nothing. Nothing. NOTHING. He gave a frustrated cry, found a sizeable rock and beat the ever living shit out of the box. The power fizzled out… and darkness enveloped the house.

A moment or two passed before Gabriel ran back inside. Everyone was still soundly asleep, none the wiser. The dog… she was awake. She stared at Gabriel, whimpering. She found his hand with her snout and he gave her a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry girl. I’ll keep everyone safe.” Her tail shifted side to side and she licked his hand several times. 

///

“It’s gone.” Olivia pushed open the door to her room, the quarantine zone so to speak, Ana muttering under her breath at the stain on the wall where they had previously trapped the entity. Every barrier, every lock, spell and safe guard was unbroken. 

The older woman turned to Jack, a crease in her brow. “Call Gabriel. You and I will go to them. Olivia, you stay here and try to lure it back with the others. And keep an ear out for the phones. Our dear Zenyatta should be arriving at the lodge this time tomorrow.”

It took little time to organise their departure. Rein piled into the backseat of Jack’s sedan, taking the whole thing up by himself. Ana was driving, Jack being responsible for non stop attempts to contact Gabriel or Genji. No one was answering. But he persisted. 

Back inside the house, Lucio and Olivia corroborated, rewatching every recording. But all traces of the entity were gone. It didn’t make any sense. Not that any of this did in the first place. 

///

“Genji?”

“Hm?” Genji peered up from the ruined junction box to his brother, frustrated. All their phones and tablets were missing and someone had obliterated the house’s power supply. And Genji was dying for his morning tea. 

“Did mother and father ever tell you about our family?”

“The criminals and gangsters? Yeah, and they said to stay out of it. So, that’s what I’ve done.” 

“No. Before all that. The stories about dragons.”

“If you’re implying a dragon stole our phones and cut our power, then I don’t really want to hear it.” Genji sighed, scratching the back of his head. 

“No, I’m implying they can fix it.” Before Genji could ask, Hanzo rested the palm of his hand against the broken metal and wires. There was a spark, something whirring to life beneath the chaos, and lights began to flicker on. Jesse gave a shout of victory from inside.

“Whatever you did Genji, it worked! We have power!” 

Genji just stared, absolutely gobsmacked at Hanzo as he pulled his hand away, pride shining through his smile. “Did… the lightning give you superpowers? Are you a superhero now?” 

Hanzo just shook his head and grinned. “It was the dragons Genji. I’ve never felt so whole in my life. It’s like… there was a space lying empty inside me, waiting for them.”

“Right…. Look, I’m just gonna go with the superpowers theory. Makes more sense.” Genji moved to head inside, Hanzo followed. 

“You have a space too. An emptiness… A dragon waiting for you. You just need to listen for it, and it will find you.” Genji didn’t respond, a chill running down his spine. He didn’t exactly like the idea of letting some unknown creature inside. His body was his own.

To his relief, Hanzo dropped the topic, greeting Jesse with a kiss as they stepped inside. He was bolder, less ashamed. This Genji was pleased to see, the kissing not so much. He made a face and went to make his tea. “Where is Gabriel?”

“Still in bed.” Jesse said. “Sleeping like the dead. I could only wake him up so he could tell me to piss off.” 

“Old age does that to you.” Genji muttered, and Jesse laughed. “Did you find our phones?”

“No. Not yet. They’ll turn up.” Genji wasn’t so reassured, but Jesse didn’t exactly seem to care right now. “We’re going to hit the town today, see if that dog belongs to anyone. You wanna come?”

“No. I’ll keep looking for the phones. Maybe look for some clues as to who trashed our power.”

“Get Gabe to help when he wakes up. He’s great at detective stuff.” 

Genji ended up waving them off, watching them drive away with a trail of dust behind them. When he could see them no longer, he turned on his heal and marched to their room. They both seemed too undisturbed by the disarray in which they had found the house. 

He was digging through dresser drawers when he had to suppress a shiver, the room colder than before, and a weight in the air behind him, closing in. 

He spun around, and there before him stood the entity, warped shadows and pure hate, more corporeal than it had been in Olivia’s room. He watched it, and it watched him.

///

The sun was at it’s highest in the sky when Jesse and Hanzo returned. They were greeted by a pile of electronics on the front lawn, And a small television falling from one of the second floor bedroom windows to join it.

“What the hell..?” Jesse cut the engine and climbed out of the car first, telling Hanzo to stay put with the dog, who unfortunately had no one step forward for her as of yet. He marched inside, door slamming open, to find electrical wires being pulled from the walls, Gabe the mastermind of that work. Genji trotted down the stairs.

“That’s everything upstairs.” He said, but paused when he noticed Jesse. Gabe stopped aswell, looking between them. “Look, Jesse… we can explain. Just… keep an open mind?”

“I… don’t think I can right now. What the hell guys? Is this some new home renovation trend I don’t know about?”

“Jess, listen. Please.” Gabriel pleaded, scuffed up hands taking both of his. He was sweating, clammy, and his eyes were dark with lack of sleep. “There’s a thing, it’s trying to get to Hanzo. It’s responsible for everything that happened! It’s using power. Television, the internet. If it gets to him, he could lose it again. Try to finish what he started.”

Jesse frowned, pulling a hand away and touching the back of it to Gabe’s forehead, retreating almost instantly. “Jesus Gabe, you’re burning up. We need to get you to the hospital!”

“No, Goddamnit! Jesse, you gotta listen to me!” He made to grab Jesse’s shoulder, but the younger man sidestepped him, guiding him over to the couch. 

“Just take a moment Gabe. Rest. I’ll just go get Hanzo inside and then I’ll take you to the doctor.”

Jesse headed outside, Genji trying to talk to him. Gabe was hot on his heels, refusing to be ignored. Hanzo and the dog were already outside the car, the hound barking, hackles raised, eyes fixed on Gabe. 

The next few moments passed by in a blur, Gabriel grabbed Jesse. Jesse pulled back. Gabe didn’t like that. He got mad. His rage was unchained, unhinged. His fists bloodied his sons face, something within him screaming in terror, something else in delight.

Jesse stopped fighting him, limp in the grass. Gabe rose, Genji was at Hanzo’s shoulder, shaking him and begging him to do the thing he showed him before. But Hanzo was a deer in headlights, terrified and knowing. 

///

“I’m sorry sir, but the Zeiglers left on family business.” The stay on nurse slash receptionist apologised again and again to Zenyatta for the wasted trip. 

He understood perfectly. Reassured her of this. He let her usher him outside, soothed by his words, though she didn’t quite understand any of what she said. She wandered back inside in a trance, dreaming while awake. Zenyatta smiled as he eyed the shiny new keys he had acquired. 

“That’s a neat trick.” A sharp voice almost managed to startle him, and he shot two newcomers a cheerful smile. “Teach me.” 

“Perhaps if you help me find where they keep the patient files, I will consider teaching you.” 

“Depends on what patient you’re lookin’ for.” The skinny rat like man folded his arms, the rotund giant beside him grunting in acknowledgement. 

“Hanzo Shimada.”

That stunned them. They looked at one another, before the skinny one grabbed his arm and dragged him along. 

“This way! I reckon’ you don’t have much time baldy.”

Zen frowned at the nickname, but followed along anyways. This was… intriguing. 

///

The sun had set by the time Jack and Gabe pulled up outside the Morrison farm house. They saw the mess of electronics, and then Jack saw an arm peeking out from behind Jesse’s car. He jumped out before Ana had a chance to cut the engine, sprinting over and collapsing beside Jesse’s body.

He went to touch his face, fingers trembling, tears already falling, when he saw the younger man’s chest rise ever so gently. He exclaimed, finally able to touch Jesse, brushing blood matted hair out of his face. Ana was beside him, telling Rein to call an ambulance. 

Jack didn’t leave Jesse’s side, sobbing as tried to clean away some of the blood. He told Jesse he loved him, apologised for not saying it enough. It was then that Jesse coughed, sputtered as he woke, rasping and reaching for Jack’s hands. Jack was relieved, until Jesse fought to sit up, scrambling to his feet and wobbling. 

“Jack… he took them Jack. We have to stop him. He’s lost his mind. He’s not well….” He rambled on, trying to walk and then having to lean on his father for support, too dizzy to go on his own.

“Did Hanzo do this Jesse?” He asked, a quiet rage pooling in his gut. Jesse shook his head, turned that rage to dread.

“It’s Gabe. Gabe did this… He took Hanzo and Genji. I don’t know where.” They heard a whimper, and the tic tac of claws on the balcony. The dog. She barked at them, once, twice… and then started walking, nose to the ground. Jesse moved to follow, Jack pushed him back to sit down on the hood of his car. “Stay here. I’ll go. Ana, take care of him for me.”

She nodded once then looked to Rein, gesturing to Jack. “Go with him dear. Keep him safe.”

The two men trudged off into the darkness, trusting the hound to take them the right way. They walked for an hour so, the land raising up, climbing until the hills were steep drops on the sides. 

The dog stopped before the rise of the largest hill yet, barking and pacing, whining, wanting to carry on, but afraid of something.

Jack and Rein continued on, and found themselves intruding on a theatrical scene. Hanzo on the ground, his legs missing. He was pleading and begging with a monster, a mass of shadow and rage. It held the younger Shimada over the edge of a drop that meant death for mortal men.

The monster recoiled in rage as Hanzo tried to catch the edge of the shadows. 

“Please! Leave them alone! I won’t fight. I won’t run. You can have me. Just leave them alone! PLEASE.” 

The creature snarled, lashing out to catch Hanzo’s jaw, knocking him back. “You… ARE… tAinTEd. Yo u WERe miNE. You BRokE yOUR proMiSE. I taKE NEeew HOst.”

Genji was released, Hanzo cried out, scrambling for the edge. There was a blinding flash of light, and the shadows recoiled, vanishing from sight. 

Jack was in shock… Rein too… Hanzo was sobbing, straining to see his brother in the darkness. Rein gathered himself, marching over to the Shimada and introducing himself briefly, before scooping him up like an inconsolable child. He caught Jack’s shoulder as he passed, guiding the still stunned man along. “Come… we must find Genji.” 

But it was Genji who found them. He skirted around a tree, wide eyed. He found Hanzo in Rein’s hold, and embraced him tightly, apologising over and over.

“Genji?! You fell!” Jack exclaimed, his mind feeling like it was on the verge of breaking. 

“I… I can’t explain it. I… I think I flew? The wind, it spoke to me… It saved me… I… I don’t know.” 

“Dragons…” Hanzo whispered, and Genji nodded again and again, pressing a kiss to his brother’s forehead. 

Jesse was standing on his own when they got back to the farm, and he hobbled over as soon as he saw them. “Gabe?”

Jack shook his head, his heart racing, aching with each beat. He went to speak when they heard something from within the house, cupboards banging, anxious boot steps marching around. 

Jack frowned, told the others to wait there. He had to speak to Gabe. If it was Gabe. He hoped it was. He stepped inside, feeling his way around the familiar rooms, following the sounds of fumbling and cursing. 

He found Gabe in the master bedroom, sitting on the bed, shoulders trembling with sobs as he cradled something close. Jack stepped closer, called the man’s name, and a hand shot out, holding a gun to Jack’s chest. Gabriel stood, taking a step forwards, pushing the end of the gun against Jack’s sternum.

“I… I love you so much, Jack… I love you so so so much….” He sobbed some more, his arm shaking. “I don’t know what else to do…. I don’t have a choice.”

“Gabe… Listen… There is always a choice, ok. Put down the gun, and let us help you.” Jack rested a hand on Gabe’s cheek, and the man’s face softened, leaning into the touch. His eyes focused on Jack, there was a moment of pure clarity. 

“I love you Jack Morrison.”

There was no time for Jack to react. Gabriel didn’t allow it. Just the sound of the gun’s muzzle clicking against teeth, and Gabriel pulled the trigger. Jack screamed, caught his husband’s body, fell with him as he crumpled to the ground. He wailed, arms wrapped around Gabriel’s shoulders and head as he rocked back and forth. He begged god, or whoever would listen to let this be a dream. A nightmare he could wake from. He heard footsteps, and then more cries join his own. Jesse’s arms around him, and then Ana’s. 

It was when he saw Genji, that Jack’s sorrow turned to rage. He scrambled to his feet and his fist collided with Genji’s jaw, he took it, didn’t move, keeping his eyes downcast. 

“You! You get to live? Fall to your death and survive? Butchered, and survive? You bring your brother into our lives, and everything goes to shit. THIS IS YOUR FAULT SHIMADA!” HE shouted, voice hoarse, Ana caught his arm and stopped a second punch. 

“That’s enough, Jack! Calm down!” 

“Calm down? Calm down?! My Husband is dead, Ana! The love of my life killed himself right infront of me, all because of this fucking demon, thing?! I mean, I am right in assuming that. Gabriel was happy, Ana.. He wasn’t suicidal… He was happy. We were happy.” Ana pulled Jack into an embrace, letting him sob into her shoulder. 

“Angel, infact…” Everyone in the room, everyone living anyways, jumped to attention. Beside the open window stood a familiar figure, clad in white and the only source of light in the room. “If you come with me, I will… try to explain. And perhaps we can finally put things right.”


	5. Love to break a curse

Zen finally found Hanzo shimada’s file. And given the circumstances, it was remarkably thin. It had his name, age, blood type. But there was nothing about his treatments. No more than one flimsy piece of paper and a photo.

“Looking for this?” 

Zen wasn’t one to scare easily, but the new voice startled him all the same. A man stood above him, holding a considerably larger file, to which he offered the other man. Zen rose from his knees, chuckling to himself when he saw a sleeping Jamie and Mako. 

“They make horrendous guards.” He spoke, tilting his head as he regarded the newcomer. “You are Angelo Zeigler? I expected someone…. More human.” 

He took the offered file and awaited his answer, but the other merely grinned and gestured for him to follow. He did. Jamie and Mako woke with a startled grunt and groan. When they saw Angelo, they too scrambled to follow. 

“I’m afraid you are too late for that file my friend, the situation has escalated.” 

“What do you mean?” Zen asked, fingers gripping the file perhaps too tightly. 

“In the past 24 hours, the entity you were hunting found Hanzo. It however, found it’s host occupied, and took another. It lashed out, killed it’s new host. A man I believe you know as Gabriel Reyes.” Angelo’s eyes were apologetic, as if he were partially responsible. Zenyatta’s heart twinged painfully at the loss of his friend, but remained silent. 

Angelo led him through, further into the basement to a rather strange room. 

It looked to be a plain white box of a room at first glance. A bright white light came from the surface of the table at the centre of the room, which seemed to be a shallow pond of some kind, the white light a kind of liquid, that rippled when they drew nearer, causing watery reflections to dance across the ceiling. 

At the far end of the room stood an archway of knotted wood, like the roots of a tree. But the doorway was empty, a stone wall only visible to them. The closer he looked, the more he saw the tree roots throughout the room, twisting through the corners and edges, holding the room together. The further away from the archway, the whiter the roots became, but from them grew white flowers, leaves and mushrooms, all emitting a soft coloured glow depending on the type. But none outshone that table. Nor the archway when it lit up. Shimmering across the liquid surface was the reflection of stars, an old house barely visible in the night. 

Through it, stepped Ana, Reinhardt and Jack. Jesse came through, carrying a legless Hanzo, followed by Genji, who, when he saw Zenyatta, ran over and wrapped his arms around his neck, greeting him with a desperate kiss. 

Something about him was changed. Something ancient filled a space within him. But as much as he might have wanted to, Zenyatta could not investigate. For the last through the portal was a woman he had not seen before, Angela Zeigler if he was to guess. And floating behind her, the body of a friend.

The portal closed behind her and she guided the body to the glowing table, letting it rest, hovering just above the surface of the light liquid. She gestured for all to join her and gathered around. Jack looked like he wanted nothing more than to take Gabriel’s hand and mourn in his own way. But seemed to have reigned him in. Directly across from her stood her brother, and they surveyed everyone present, before acknowledging one another, sharing unspoken words. 

Jamie and Mako had taken place beside Hanzo and Jesse, worried about their friend, but even they dare not interrupt the Zeiglers. Eventually, finally, Angela and Angelo spoke, with one voice that echoed a thousand. Everyone around the table was taken to another place, to spectate what they had to show, to see the stitches at the seems. 

///

Eons ago, the Shimada clan’s founder made a deal. A poor conscript in a war he knew nothing of, found himself dying on the battlefield. A wife and unborn child waited for his return. He pleaded and begged for whoever would listen, and to his fortune someone answered. A dragon. It’s kind had been hunted to near extinction. It too was struggling for a way to survive. It gave the man it’s longevity, bonding with him, and becoming a spiritual companion. To repay it, the man ensured that it’s own kin would have other’s to reside with. 

When his child reach several years of age, with the dragon’s guidance, the man performed a ritual. He opened the child’s soul, to host that of the dragon’s child. As the generations passed, not every dragon could bond with their host. They died, and their chosen host was none the wiser. It had been this way for several generations in recent history. The Shimada blood was corrupt. And to the hosts unbound, it was just myth and legend. The ritual stopped, and the dragons faded away. 

Until Hanzo’s mother found his grandmother performing the ritual on the young boy in a desperate bid to restore the pact and save their clan from inevitable demise. She found the old woman standing on the roof of their castle with the boy raised to the heavens, lightning crackling and growing ever closer. In a panic, the boy’s parents fled the family, took all they could and disappeared. 

It so happened that the ritual had been half completed. The boy was a vessel now, but the dragon was cast to the stormy air when the mother took her son. They sought to have a normal life, and in doing so, were far harsher on their child than they needed to be. His heart darkened, and the sorrow called to something. An angel. She saw the boys anguish, the hollow feeling, and ached. She became the boy’s friend, but an Angel was never meant to be confined to a host. 

She became corrupted, distancing the boy from his family, keeping him for herself. She believed it her duty to protect him, and what better way to do so than keep him locked away. She worried how she would keep him this way when he began to seek companionship in another boy. And then his parents found out. Everything was going according to plan. Their anger and rejection broke the last ties Hanzo had, broke him enough that once again he turned to her for solace. 

But then his parents came around. Broken bonds were repaired, new ones made. He moved towards the love of others once more. She couldn’t have that. She couldn’t. She took the final push to fall from grace, took control of the boy, and used his body to destroy those who would take him from her. 

The boy was strong… he regained control before she could finish his brother, the person he loved most. He threw himself to the house phone and called the police, begging her to stop whenever she pulled at his limbs to finish what she started. 

He fought her for years. Tore through glass and wire to be rid of her. She did not go quietly. She tormented him with what they had done. Plagued his dreams, and caused him to lash out at those around him. Two proved resilient, annoyingly so. A rat, a pig. Their presence drowned her out. Her host became aware, and actively sought their companionship. 

And then the musician came. She’d heard the music through Hanzo on the radio, knew in person it would weaken her hold on him. She gathered what strength she could and caused him to lash out. He put three nurses and one other patient in the hospital before he was sedated and put in isolation. 

But the musician found them anyway. She crippled him, and still he offered Hanzo help. Hanzo took it, and his friends, the rat and pig, followed like guardians. 

It was when Hanzo was in the care of the Ziegler’s, that the entity’s consciousness faded. Hanzo began to surface. Together, the Zeigler siblings took her away from Hanzo. They did all they could to contain her, to console her. But she escaped. Found her way into a world of faces and doors. But the only doors open to her were her own images, ones where she had been. So she fought to appear more, be recorded more. Eventually she would find Hanzo. 

The Ziegler’s didn’t know. They wouldn’t have let Hanzo leave if they didn’t think she was safely contained. The entity found herself in the presence of someone who knew of him. She was close. All she had to do was wait. 

And then she felt the last of her bond with Hanzo tear, painfully. She had been listening, watching. She knew where to find him. And she would make him pay. 

It was the storm. The storm that filled Hanzo with twin dragons. They had searched for him for decades, and when they found him, he pushed them away. He was terrified it was her. He kept ahead of them, until Jesse appeared. He slowed Hanzo down, centred him. A restless sea of a soul was calmed, and the dragons came home. When Hanzo awoke in the hospital, he and the dragons were of one mind. And Jesse, asleep by the window was the reason he felt like a complete person for once in his life.

The entity followed the panic. Hijacked a phonecall of all things, and latched onto a man named Gabriel. She hid, not wanting to be found out, waiting to strike. She could only wait for so long, anguishing at the love Hanzo felt while a dozen people fought to be rid of her. 

Gabriel was strong. He remained guarded. But the power spikes lowered that guard. He panicked. She wished she could claim responsibility, but it was Hanzo. His presence radiated power. Energy. It was what Gabriel thought she was using to journey. His panic bled into the brother. All she had to do was appear once behind Gabriel to weaken the younger Shimada’s soul. He was not so guarded. She planned to take Genji, and wreak vengeance on Hanzo. 

And then Jesse tried to reach out to Gabe. She felt a sense of knowing, the man becoming aware of her presence. It was her last chance. She took control of Gabriel. She beat Jesse into the ground, Hanzo cowering in her presence, thinking her gone. He tried to use the dragons against her, but he was not yet used to their power. Using Gabriel, she pushed through the untamed sparks of energy. She tore off Hanzo’s legs, slammed Genji’s head into the side of the car again and again and again until he passed out. And then she took them both to the highest point she could find. She wanted to make Hanzo watch as she killed his brother. And then she would tear him limb from limb. 

But Genji did not die. His soul, a pure Shimada soul now open to the world, was found by it’s own dragon. The ritual of sacrifice calling it home. And then golden light bloomed from before her, burning her new form. She was forced to retreat. People closing in. Angels closing in. She only had so much time. She found a gun in Gabriel’s mind, made him find it in the waking world. She would kill them all before they got to her. But Gabriel was strong. Gabriel saw Jack. He saw everything he loved begging him to fight. He fought. 

In a final bid to silence her, he killed himself, to protect his husband, his son, and the rest of those he loved. 

///

“Gabriel Reyes was a brave man, but the entity remains.” Angela said. She wavered a hand over Gabriel’s body, and a shadow shimmered around it. A pained look appeared on the woman’s face before she nodded to Angelo.

He offered a hand, and after a few moments, a shadowy hand reached out and took it. 

“Come back to us. Don’t stay in the dark any longer.” His voice was gentle and soothing. 

“Moira…” Angela was pleading. “We miss you, my love. Come back to us.” The shadow distorted, anguish and pain visible. “We know why you kept with the boy. You loved him. Wanted to protect him. But it is our duty, Your duty, to protect all. To love all.”

Faintly, all present could hear the sounds of a woman weeping, weary and frail. But she resisted, pulling back as if burned. And then she fixated on Hanzo, lashed out, but her shadow figure distorted at the edge of the table, a barrier in place. Hanzo did not flinch at the angry red eyes within the shadow. 

“.... I… didn’t know your name was Moira…” He spoke, and there was a sadness in his eyes. “I caused you so much pain….” The red of the eyes softened somewhat, there was a soft breath throughout the room, and the palm of a shadowy hand was held up to the barrier. 

Hanzo went to press his hand against it, when Genji stopped him. “Don’t, Hanzo!”

He did not look to his brother, continuing to watch the shadow. “I am safe Genji. I have the dragons…” He spoke softly, and when Genji’s hand released his, he pressed his hand to the shadow. 

The black and smoke melted away, a normal hand beginning to form, though it’s form was frail, wavering at the seems. “... Mo shíorghrá…” The words were soft, like a mother bidding a child goodnight with a kiss to the brow. And then, the shadow and the hand began to fade like a whisper on the wind.

Hanzo’s hand fell through the air, and he caught it before it hit the liquid light, holding it close to his chest. The Zeigler’s exchanged looks before Angela sighed shakily and smiled. 

“... She is here. But she will need us to help her heal, to become like us again. Thankyou, Mr Shimada… I believe your words will help.” Angela smiled towards him. “We are angels… We live like you, but we still were born in the heavens. Children who died in times of crisis. I in war. Angelo in famine. Moira in plague. Our bodies are human, our thoughts, our memories… but our hearts are more. We fought to make the world a better place. Heal the sick, give food to the hungry, cure disease. But we are still human too… and Humans err. Humans see a crying child, and seek to comfort. Moira found Hanzo, and the empty vessel bonded to the part of her that was not human.”

“We have found empty vessels before…” Angelo continued, head lowered. “But in all our healing and caring for the masses, I believe we neglected to look after one another. We will not repeat this mistake. The man before us all sacrificed all to protect you all. His love for you gave him strength.”

“That’s a lovely story and all…” Jack spoke, a bitter tone in his voice. “But while your friend gets away with it all, this man is dead…” There was an anger, tired and sad… but there was a hopeful lilt in his voice, scared to be let down. But his eyes drew to his husband’s peaceful face, and Angela smiled. 

“We are not so cruel as to lead you on, Jack.” She spoke, and with a simple hand gesture, Gabriel’s body was lowered into the light. It was not very deep, a mere two inches perhaps, but no one had a ruler on hand. But once Gabriel came to a rest, the liquid began to emit a low pulse. Gradually, they saw a light, running in tendrils under his skin, lighting up his veins. They saw the veins glow and pulse, travelling towards his heart. And as the pulse grew louder, they heard whispers and memories of the man before them. The life he lived, the love he felt.

The love of his Grandmother, raising him all by herself. She taught him to cook. Taught him to sing and dance. When he came back from the war, in love with another man, she accepted him, and accepted Jack. She died happy, knowing her grandson was loved, and that he loved as well. 

His love for Jack began well before the explosion that trapped them. They had undergone training and procedures that were immoral but effective. It broke most men. But the idealistic man from a corn farm smiled like the sun and remained optimistic. Gabriel loved him then, but kept hidden. Afraid of rejection, afraid of his marital commitments. Afraid of judgement. When they returned home, he wasn’t afraid anymore. Holding Jack’s hand, and his heart, he found the life he wanted to live. 

He danced, he sang, he cooked, and most importantly, he helped people. The helping led him to Jesse. A teenager way in over his head. A teenager who didn’t want to hurt people to survive. A teenager who didn’t have love. Gabe stood by him in trials, visited him in juvenile prison. And he fought for him, gave him a home, a family. 

And when he saw how Jesse looked at Hanzo, Gabriel loved him too. Gabriel wanted to protect him… protect the love that grew in all shapes and sizes. Protect his family even if the odds were stacked against him. Because it was his family that he owed everything to. 

His final moments, full of Jack, solidified those desires. He wasn’t going to let some entity hurt his family any more. With love in his heart, he did what he’d always tried to do. He protected them. 

Jack sighed with a shudder, trying to suppress his tears as he looked upon Gabe’s body. Jesse closed his eyes, holding Hanzo that little bit tighter. Genji hid his face in Zenyatta’s shoulder. For they too loved Gabriel as he had loved them.

///

The room was yellow with the morning sun, birds singing outside in celebration of the morning. He would grumble and complain at the time, if he wasn’t tempted forth by the smell of pancakes.

With a groan, he climbed out of bed, shuffled down the hall and down the stairs, yawning as he scratched the back of his head. There was a chorus of good mornings as he entered the kitchen slash dining room… more like hall. Jack smiled tenderly, walking over and kissing Gabriel ever so sweetly, taking a moment to hold him. 

“Miss me?” Gabe asked, chuckling sleepily as he held Jack close. 

The doorbell rang, and Olivia hopped up, running to answer it. 

“Goodmorning! Thankyou for inviting us!” Angela Zeigler walked through the door, carrying a tray of choc chip muffins. At her side, tall slender woman with red hair. Her eyes met Gabriel’s and she smiled tentatively. “Angelo will be late. I believe he was picking up coffee for everyone with Genji and Zenyatta…” 

“Awesome!” Hana exclaimed happily, leaning sleepily on Lucio’s shoulder. She was never functional before caffeine. "You'd think a year in this job would be enough to get those guys out of bed ontime. Even Jamie and Mako show up on time."

“Oh, Gabe.” Jack caught Gabriel’s hand, pulling him to the side. He slipped a piece of paper with a photo stapled to it. A letter. “Jesse and Hanzo made it to Hanamura. They’re excited for Peru, but enjoying the detour.”

“Hell of a detour.” Gabe laughed, smiling as he traced the edge of the photo. It was a poorly taken selfie in front of a bell with dragon imagery all over it. Poorly taken, but full of love. “Lucky bastards. I’ll read this later.” Jack nodded and kissed Gabriel on the cheek. 

“Right well, I’ve got pancakes to flip, you should get ready to debrief everyone on the new case.” 

Gabriel grinned, and once the rest of their band of merry misfits arrived, he stood before them, in boxers and a black tank. “Right, Overwatch, listen up!”

///

Hanzo was bouncing his leg, nervously waiting to be called. Jesse, ever his rock, gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. Eventually, they were asked to come forward by a young woman, dressed in a slim pinstripe suit. She bowed her head towards Hanzo and gestured for them to follow. 

They were led through a beautiful garden complex, to a room with a view of the whole city below. In the centre of the room was a kotatsu, with a lady so old she had to be ancient. She saw Hanzo, saw his hand gripping Jesse’s tightly, and smiled a warm smile as tears fell down her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to apologize again that I rushed the end, I did want one or two major events per chapter, but I got too many ideas and not enough time. 
> 
> Mo shíorghrá - My Eternal Love (Or so google tells me)  
I intended for a more parental love. Mercy and Moira are tight.   
And I didn't imply it too great, but Angelo in a polyamoury with Zen and Genji. I like. 
> 
> I am also a sucker for happy endings.


End file.
